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PATHFINDER  SOCIAL  SURVEY 

OF  SAN  DIEGO 


Report  of  Limited   Investigations  of  Social  Conditions 
in  San  Diego,  California 


UNDER  DIRECTION  OF  THE  COLLEGE  WOMAN'S  CLUB 


INVESTIGATORS 

EDITH     SHATTO     KING 
FREDERICK   A.  KING 


Investigations 

Page 

Public  Health  and  Sanitation  -  -  -  -  -         5 

Public  Education         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -19 

Recreation  __.------      24 

Delinquency         ___------       28 

Industrial  Conditions — Foreign  Population         -         -         -       31 
Betterment  Agencies        --------36 

Civic  Improvement 40 

Taxation  and  Public  Finance        ------      42 

List  of  Charitable  and  Semi-Charitable  Agencies        -        -       45 


361104 


0 


REPORT    OF    THE    SETTLEMENT    COMMITTEE    OF    THE 
COLLEGE   WOMAN'S    CLUB 

The  Settlement  Committee  of  the  College  Woman's  Club,  early 
in  the  year,  found  accurate  information  about  social  conditions 
in  San  Diego  difficult  and,  in  some  instances,  impossible  to  ob- 
tain. It,  therefore,  recommended  to  the  Club  that  a  Social  Sur- 
vey be  made.  By  vote  of  the  Club,  the  Committee  was  directed 
to  find  a  trained  worker  competent  to  make  such  a  survey  and 
was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  A.  King,  rec- 
ommended both  by  Mr.  Paul  U.  Kellogg,  editor  of  "The  Survey," 
and  by  Mr.  Shelby  M.  Harrison,  head  of  the  Department  of  Sur- 
veys and  Exhibits,  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 

The  substance  of  the  Pathfinder  Survey  herewith  reported  has 
been  obtained  in  about  three  weeks'  time,  and  under  rather  uni- 
que circumstances.  The  work  has  been  done  upon  a  co-operative 
basis.  The  special  committee,  members  of  the  College  Woman's 
Club,  and  interested  friends,  have  aided  in  gathering  material, 
either  by  arranging  interviews  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  King  with  lead- 
ers in  social  work,  or  by  contributing  to  the  discussion  at  general 
meetings  held  to  consider  particular  topics,  such  as  recreation  or 
delinquency.  In  addition,  in  the  report  on  housing  conditions, 
club  members  and  their  friends  covered  certain  districts  in  the 
city  and  secured  general  information  as  to  rents,  types  of  houses, 
and  the  like.  This  information  would  have  been  difficult  to  ob- 
tain in  any  other  way  in  so  short  a  time.  Thanks  are  due  all 
those  who  have  given  their  services.  Whatever  value  the  report 
may  have  as  a  rapid  review  of  the  city's  social  resources  and 
needs  should  be  credited  largely  to  such  co-operation. 

Special  thanks  are  due  Miss  Miriam  A.  Besley,  who  prepared 
the  report  on  education ;  Mr.  James  L.  Chapman,  who  furnished 
material  for  the  statement  as  to  civic  improvement;  Mr.  R.  E, 
Chadwick,  who  rendered  a  similar  service  in  regard  to  taxation ; 
the  Y.  M,  C.  A.,  which  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee 
its  survey  of  conditions  concerning  boys.  Thanks  are  due  also  to 
the  organizations,  civic  and  social,  which  contributed  financial 
aid  to  the  publication  of  this  survey.  Further  investigation  of  a 
thorough  nature  should  be  made  along  the  lines  indicated  in  the 
report,  with  a  view  to  definite  constructive  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  community  toward  social  betterment. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

(Signed)     MARY  A.  HILL. 


FOREWORD 

According  to  the  United  States  Census,  San  Diego's  population 
in  1910  was  over  39,000,  with  an  increase  in  population  of  123 
per  cent  during  the  1900-10  period.  The  present  estimated  popu- 
lation is  about  80,000.  The  city's  growth  during  the  1900-10  per- 
iod, and  also  in  the  years  following,  gives  proof  of  the  remark- 
able commercial  activity  of  the  community.  Further  growth 
may  be  predicted  upon  completion  of  the  San  Diego  &  Arizona 
Railroad,  now  a  definite  undertaking.  The  city  will  then  become 
a  natural  outlet  for  Imperial  Valley  and  Southern  Arizona.  This 
will  give  a  much  needed  additional  outlet  for  San  Diego,  which 
is  reached  at  present  by  a  single  trunk  line  from  other  sections 
of  the  state.  The  city's  commercial  activity  culminates  in  the 
Panama  Exposition  in  1915  to  mark  the  opening  of  the  Panama 
Canal. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  energy  of  the  community  has  di- 
rected itself  in  general  along  commercial  lines,  developing  the 
opportunities  of  the  real  estate  boomer  and  his  moneyed  patron. 
However,  during  the  past  ten  years  a  community  spirit  has  be- 
gun to  take  definite  shape  which  has  for  its  end  the  betterment 
of  the  social  needs  of  the  entire  city — a  recognition  of  the  neces- 
sities of  the  working  population  as  well  as  of  the  capitalist,  the 
retired  business  man,  and  the  real  estate  speculator.  This  new 
social  spirit  has  begun  to  crystallize  and  find  expression  in  the 
various  church  organizations  and  civic  societies.  As  evidence  of 
the  activity  of  these  agencies,  we  find  the  following  changes  for 
the  better  during  the  past  ten  years:  A  re-incorporation  of  the 
city  under  a  commission  form  of  government,  a  general  improve- 
ment in  the  management  of  the  County  Hospital  and  City  Board 
of  Health,  an  attempt  at  city  planning,  the  city  play-ground 
movement,  the  closing  of  the  red  light  or  restricted  district  and 
establishment  of  the  Juvenile  Court.  Private  agencies  also  have 
been  developed  in  this  ten-year  period.  An  Associated  Charities 
has  been  organized  and  a  fine  new  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  erected. 

While  for  the  most  part  the  community's  social  workers  may 
not  be  trained  in  handling  social  problems  as  in  the  larger  East- 
ern cities,  the  interest  of  the  workers,  both  in  public  and  private 
agencies,  is  fresh  and  vigorous.  Moreover,  in  the  expression  of 
its  larger  social  life,  the  city  has  fallen  into  but  few  "ruts"  such 
as  are  typical  of  some  Eastern  cities,  and  a  stumbling  block  in  the 


path  of  real  progress.  Nor  do  the  present  state  and  county  ad- 
ministrations bear  the  stamp  of  the  Eastern  city's  cut  and  dried 
ofRciaHsm,  which  tends  to  develop  bureaucratic  methods,  and 
moves  by  compulsion  rather  than  on  its  own  initiative.  If  only 
a  part  of  the  energy  of  the  community  now  manifested  in  so  suc- 
cessfully exploiting  its  commercial  interests  could  be  directed 
into  other  channels,  into  strengthening  its  defences  against  pov- 
erty, disease  and  crime,  the  city  might  face  the  future  confident 
of  attaining  some  measure  of  substantial  results. 

The  community  has  yet  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  immigra- 
tion following  upon  the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal.  It  is  not 
likely  that  this  problem  will  be  a  large  one,  from  present  indica- 
tions, owing  to  the  limited  opportunities  for  immigrants  in  San 
Diego's  small  local  industries.  Nor  will  the  problem  become  of 
real  importance  until  the  "back  country"  about  San  Diego  has 
become  more  developed  and  railroad  connections  established  with 
Imperial  Valley  and  Southern  Arizona. 

The  greatest  need  of  the  community  in  its  present  undeveloped 
stage  of  social  consciousness  and  unconcern  of  many  of  its  citi- 
zens for  the  needs  of  the  whole,  is  a  co-ordinating  of  social  inter- 
ests. This  must  be  reflected  in  the  work  of  individuals  who  shall 
not  confine  themselves  to  the  interests  of  single  agencies  alone, 
but  shall  become  interested  in  the  activities  of  other  agencies  as 
well;  such  individuals  and  agencies  working  together  upon  a  defi- 
nite social  program  for  the  whole  community.  It  is  the  purpose 
of  the  following  brief  report  to  outline  the  community  needs  with 
a  view  to  helping  toward  a  definite  social  program — measuring 
up  the  community  to  the  best  in  the  development  of  cities  of  the 
country. 


PUBLIC  HEALTH  AND  SANITATION 

San  Diego  has  been  so  long  called  a  healthful  city  that  the  sub- 
ject of  public  health  seems  to  arouse  little  interest.  However,  no 
city,  especially  of  the  size  and  rapid  growth  of  San  Diego,  is  with- 
out its  serious  public  health  problems  today.  The  intelligent  pub- 
lic should  be  informed  of  the  factors  that  modify  the  health  con- 
ditions of  their  city. 

Causes  of  Death 

The  death  rate  for  San  Diego  based  upon  the  total  number  of 
deaths  recorded  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Health  for 
1913,  and  their  estimate  of  population,  85,000,  a  higher  estimate 
than  was  obtained  from  any  other  reliable  source,  was  12.14  per 
one  thousand  population.  As  compared  with  the  average  annual 
death  rate,  17  per  thousand  population,  for  the  period  from  1901- 
1911,  inclusive,  in  the  U.  S.  Census  published  reports  of  mortality 
statistics,  this  is  a  striking  decrease.  San  Diego,  according  to 
the  Census  reports  for  these  years,  has  a  comparatively  high 
death  rate,  as  compared  with  many  cities  of  its  size,  both  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  and  in  the  East.  Without  further  study,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  give  the  reason  for  this  decrease,  if  it  is  true,  or 
to  attribute  it  to  improved  conditions.  It  is  a  subject  well  worthy 
of  further  investigation,  and  would  involve  a  study  of  death  rates 
for  at  least  a- fifteen-year  period.  According  to  the  mortality  sta- 
tistics for  several  years  back,  San  Diego  has  a  low  typhoid  deatli 
rate,  and  a  low  death  rate  from  diseases  of  children.  These  two 
causes  of  deaths  ^e  both  classed  among  preventable  diseases. 
Although  the  city  has  a  small  death  rate  from  these  causes,  it 
has  a  high  death  rate  from  tuberculosis  as  compared  to  other 
cities.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  people  come  here  already  af- 
flicted with  the  disease,  a  factor  which  makes  the  death  rate  of 
the  whole  of  California  higher  than  that  of  other  states.  How- 
ever, the  State  Board  of  Health  has  discovered  that  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  high  death  rate  is  largely  due  to  the  influx  of 
out-siders,  more  than  one-third  are  deaths  of  natives  or  residents 
of  ten  years  and  over  of  California.*  This  is  to  be  expected.  Tu- 
berculosis is  a  communicable  disease,  and  if  a  large  number  of  the 
tubercular  persons  are  here  and  no  provision  is  made  for  the".' 
care,  or  for  teaching  them  proper  measures  for  the  protection  of 
the  residents,  these  residents  also  will  be  subject  to  the  disease, 
in  spite  of  the  great  advantages  here  for  out-door  living. 

Water  Supply 

San  Diego  is  fortunate  in  having  a  pure  water  supply,  owned 
and  operated  by  the  municipality.  This  supply  comes  from  prac- 
tically an  uncontaminated  water  shed,  and  is  forced  through  a 
filter  before  reaching  the  consumer.     Recent  bacteriological  and 

*State  Board  of  Health  Report,  1910-1911,  P.  119. 


chemical  analyses  indicate  that  the  entire  city  is  receiving  a  safe 
water  supply. 

Sewage  Disposal 

The  most  costly  health  problem  which  confronts  the  city,  and 
upon  which  the  health  department  has  made  repeated  recom- 
mendations, is  the  question  of  sewage  disposal  and  the  exten- 
sion of  the  sewers  to  unsewered  parts  of  the  city.  At  present  the 
sewage  is  emptied  directly  into  the  bay  in  such  a  way  that  it  is 
not  carried  out  of  the  bay,  but  settles  there.  At  low  tide,  the 
tide  lands  are  left  in  bad  condition,  both  from  the  sewage  emptied 
into  the  bay  from  sewers  and  from  refuse  and  privie  contents 
dumped  directly  into  the  bay  from  shacks  along  the  watei^'s  edge 
where  there  are  no  sewer  connections.  A  recent  epidemic  of  ty- 
phoid was  traced  by  the  health  department  to  infection  carried 
by  flies  from  the  tide  lands.  This  epidemic  was  confined  almost 
entirely  to  the  bay  front.  There  is  no  real  displacement  of  water 
in  the  bay  except  in  the  tidal  prism,  the  upper  ten  feet  of  water. 
Consequently,  it  is  not  true  that  the  bay  water  is  continually  re- 
placed by  fresh  water  from  the  ocean.  The  water  of  the  bay  has 
changed  visibly  from  a  comparatively  clean  to  a  filthy  condition 
during  the  last  ten  years,  according  to  reports  from  observing 
citizens.  San  Diego  has  a  good  sewage  department,  which  is  ex- 
tending the  sewage  system  as  rapidly  as  funds  are  available.  The 
great  need  is  funds.  This  department  installed  in  1913,  38.7  miles 
of  sewers,  a  fine  achievement.  However,  there  are  still  consider- 
able portions  of  the  city  that  have  no  sewers  and  where  condi- 
tions are  bad.  Unsanitary  privie  vaults  are  also  found.  The 
pri\ie  vault  is  being  rapidly  eliminated  by  the  Jlealth  Department 
from  the  sewered  parts  of  the  city.  The  department  expects  to 
have  this  completed  by  1915. 

Garbage  and  Refuse  Disposal 

Another  important  health  measure  for  San  Diego  is  the  proper 
disposal  of  refuse  and  garbage.  This  is  much  needed  and  is  evi- 
dent even  to  the  tourist  by  casual  observation,  because  of  the 
conditions  of  vacant  lots  and  canyons  about  the  city.  At  present 
there  is  no  free  city  collection  of  garbage.  Citizens  must  depend 
upon  a  private  concern  to  make  collections  for  which  they  must 
pay.  The  result  is  that  in  the  poorer  parts  of  the  city,  where 
garbage  collection  is  most  necessary,  there  is  no  adequate  col- 
lection, or  destruction  of  the  garbage.  Residents  escape  paying 
for  collections  in  any  way  that  seems  easiest  to  them,  burning, 
burying,  or  surreptitiously  dumping  on  some  one  else's  property. 
The  city  has  built  an  incinerator  which  is  entirely  inadequate  for 
meeting  the  situation  for  garbage  and  refuse  disposal.  At  th3 
present  time,  the  private  concern,  on  which  the  city  depends  for 
its  collection  and  disposal  of  garbage,  feeds  the  garbage  to  hogs, 
on  a  near-by  farm,  and  burns  the  refuse  in  the  city  incine  -ator. 
Both  the  collection  and  this  method  of  disposing  of  the  garbage 
have  been  tried  and  given  up  years  ago  by  progressive  cities 


throughout  the  country.  Since  it  has  been  done  in  other  cities, 
there  is  no  reason  why  San  Diego,  with  a  comparatively  small 
initial  outlay  of  money,  probably  not  more  than  $20,000,  could 
adequately  take  care  of  the  whole  refuse  and  garbage  question. 
If  this  could  be  done  entirely  without  the  interference  of  politics, 
the  city  might  even  make  money  at  the  enterprise.  At  present, 
it  costs  the  private  citizen  at  least  50  cents  per  month  to  have  his 
garbage  alone  taken  away.  Under  proper  city  management,  this 
could  be  done  at  an  estimated  cost  of  not  more  than  15  cents  per 
month  per  family.  Now  the  garbage-fed  hogs  are  largely  infect- 
ed with  tuberculosis,  and  the  people  are  paying  for  their  garbage 
collection,  and  then  paying  again  for  pork  from  tubercular  hogs 
fed  on  that  garbage. 

The  Health  Department 

San  Diego  as  compared  with  other  cities  of  its  size  has  a  good 
Health  Department.  It  is  not,  however,  receiving  much  attention 
from  the  public.  Even  intelligent  citizens  know  almost  nothing 
about  its  w^ork. 

Organization 

There  are  defects  in  the  present  form  of  organization.  The 
shaping  of  the  policy  of  the  department  is  given  to  a  Board  of 
five  members,  while  the  health  officer  of  the  Board  occupies  to 
a  large  extent  only  an  executive  position.  Modern  health  prob- 
lems demand  an  expert  knowledge  and  experience  combined  with 
a  free  rein  to  carry  out  measures  which  cannot  be  expected  of 
any  Board.  Fortunately,  the  present  Board  is  composed  o"  broad- 
minded  scientific  men,  although  the  influence  of  politics  in  this 
department  has  been  a  handicap.  There  is  always  the  danger 
under  the  present  form  of  control  that  when  matters  go  wrong, 
the  health  officer  can  put  the  blame  on  the  Board  and  vice  versa. 
Progressive  cities  have  given  up  the  idea  of  a  Board  of  Health 
and  have  appointed  one  man  for  a  long  term  of  office  who  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  health  of  the  city.  In  this  way  there  can  be 
no  shifting  of  responsibility.  If  the  health  officer  desires  an  ad- 
visory board  he  should  have  t>3wer  to  appoint  it.  Moreover, 
the  present  department  is  said  to  lack  financial  support  from  the 
Council,  because,  in  the  present  form  of  city  government,  it  is 
under  a  Board  instead  of  being  directly  under  a  member  of  the 
Council. 

San  Diego's  sanitary  assets  are  on  the  w^hole,  good,  but  her 
controllable  sanitary  conditions  are  not  yet  at  the  highest  prac- 
tical standard — not  to  mention  an  ideal  standard.  This  is  be- 
cause of  the  city's  recent  very  rapid  growth.  Moreover,  in  the 
past  few  years  municipal  sanitation  and  new  methods  for  pre- 
vention of  disease  have  been  so  rapidly  developed  that  these 
methods  have  not  been  used  in  most  cities  of  San  Diego's  size. 
The  municipal  health  department  is  naturally  the  organized  ef- 
fort upon  which  the  city  depends  for  the  vigorous  pushing  of 
measures  for  the  prevention  of  disease  and  death.    The  presejit 


chief  health  officer  is  a  physician  in  good  standing.  Such  a  health 
officer  is  next  best  to  a  trained  sanitary  engineer  of  whom  there 
are  but  few  in  the  country.  It  is  not  unusual  in  the  cities  of  the 
size  of  San  Diego  to  pay  for  only  part  of  the  time  of  the  health 
officer.  However,  this  is  a  serious  handicap  for  an  efficient  de- 
partment. The  city  has  already  grown  to  a  size  where  this  can- 
not be  continued.  It  should  be  wilHng  to  pay  a  salary  large 
enough  to  obtain  the  full  time  of  a  scientifically  trained  man,  who 
is  familiar  with  the  best  methods  of  controlling  public  health. 
Such  a  man  cannot  be  considered  for  a  salary  of  less  than  $5,000, 
because  an  executive  big  enough  for  the  position  can  secure  a 
larger  income  in  private  practice.  With  such  a  man  at  the  head 
of  the  health  department,  all  subjects  relating  to  the  prevention 
and  control  of  disease  could  be  studied  and  a  far-reaching  and 
constructive  program  laid  out. 

Cost 

The  Health  Department  employs  a  health  officer  at  $125.00  a 
month,  who  spends  one  hour  of  the  day  in  the  Health  Depart- 
ment office  and  such  other  time  as  is  necessary  for  the  care  of 
contagious  diseases.  It  is  not  possible  for  a  man  in  one  hour  or 
even  in  several  hours  a  day  to  more  than  meet  the  urgent  de- 
mands on  his  time  as  an  executive.  No  time  is  allow^ed  for  the 
study  of  preventive  measures  in  any  local  health  situation.  The 
city  administration  is  said  to  have  provided  liberally  for  necessi- 
ties, but  to  have  never  gone  beyond  actual  necessities.  When 
one  considers  the  heavy  death  rates  from  such  a  communicable 
disease  as  tuberculosis  or  the  spread  of  the  horrors  of  venereal 
diseases,  one  wonders  what  is  meant  by  necessities  in  such  a  state- 
ment; especially,  since  eastern  cities,  where  an  active  campaign 
against  tuberculosis  has  been  waged,  have  reduced  their  death 
rates  from  this  scourge.  In  San  Diego,  tuberculosis  has  in- 
creased surprisingly.  Furthermore,  when  eighty-five  babies 
under  a  year  old  died  last  year  in  San  Diego — a  natural  children's 
paradise — and  when  a  majority  of  these  deaths  could  have  been 
prevented  by  a  pure  milk  supply,  and  by  giving  mothers  instruc- 
tions for  the  care  of  their  children  through  public  health  nurses, 
one  again  wonders  what  is  meant  by  necessities.  The  Health  De- 
partment in  1912  expended  $26,398.  (See  chart  for  per  cent, 
spent  for  health  as  compared  with  other  city  departments.)  The 
estimated  cost  for  the  last  fiscal  year  is  $31,739.  The  receipts 
are  $10,725,  making  the  actual  cost  to  the  city  only  $21,014.  The 
pest  houses  will  be  maintained  and  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  $6,375. 
At  the  present  time  there  is  no  hosp'tal  in  the  city  where  chil- 
dren with  diptheria,  scarlet  fever,  measles,  etc.,  can  be  taken. 
They  must  be  quarantined  in  their  homes.  Among  the  poor, 
either  in  the  congested  parts  or  in  the  scattered  homes  on  the 
city's  edge,  there  is  little  chance  for  proper  protection  of  the  rest 
of  the  family,  or  outsiders. 

Care  of  Communicable  Diseases 

Under  the  state  law,  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  must 


be  reported  to  the  local  boards  of  health.  In  the  case  of  contag- 
ious diseases  the  health  officer  or  his  assistant  visit  for  the  pur- 
pose of  quarantining.  When  a  poor  family  is  quarantined  all 
needs  are  supplied,  even  to  the  employing  of  a  special  nurse  if 
necessary.  Bacteriological  examinations  are  made,  and  anti- 
toxines  given.  Fumigation  is  performed  after  recovery  or  death. 
In  the  case  of  tuberculosis,  the  communicable  disease  causing  sev- 
en times  more  deaths  in  the  city  for  1913,  than  all  the  other  con- 
tagious diseases  combined,  and  the  cause  of  15  per  cent,  of  all 
deaths,  there  is  no  proper  reporting.*  Naturally,  this  is  true 
where  there  is  no  public  assistance  offered  even  when  the  disease 
is  reported.  Fumigations  are  made  after  death  of  tubercular 
cases  and  sometimes  after  removal.  For  the  latter  a  fee  is  us- 
ually charged.  Nothing  could  be  learned  about  the  prevalence 
of  venereal  diseases,  or  of  ophthalmia  neonatorum,  the  great 
cause  of  blindness.  Accurate  information  might  be  obtained  if 
nurses  were  in  the  field  visiting  poor  mothers  with  babies. 

Publication  of  Report 

Only  a  type-written  copy  of  the  annual  report  of  the  Health 
Department  was  available.  An  annual  report  should  be  publish- 
ed, and  obtainable  by  every  citizen.  The  Department  does  pub- 
lish a  monthly  bulletin  on  vital  statistics.  However,  unnecessary 
material  is  printed  instead  of  facts  for  the  education  of  the  pub- 
lic in  health  matters.  For  instance,  much  space  is  devoted  to  the 
climate  of  San  Diego.  It  would  seem  that  such  a  matter  could 
be  left  safely  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  or  the  Meteorological 
Department  of  the  U.  S.  Government. 

Milk  Supply 

The  milk  supply  of  San  Diego  is  unsafe  because  of  lax  regula- 
tions as  to  the  quahty  of  milk  sold  and  its  delivery.  The  city  re- 
quires a  license  for  dairies  and  they  are  inspected.  However, 
milk  is  still  delivered  in  open  wagons  instead  of  in  covered  wag- 
ons and  in  sealed  bottles.  There  is  no  regulation  for  keeping  it 
cool  while  being  delivered.  The  Health  Department  recently  at- 
tempted to  have  an  ordinance  passed,  requiring  that  milk  be  re- 
tailed in  sealed  milk  bottles,  that  milk  sold  should  not  have  a 
higher  bacterial  count  than  1,000,000,  a  ridiculously  low  standard 
in  itself  as  compared  with  other  cities,  and  that  no  milk  be.  sold 
excepting  from  tuberculin-tested  cows.  All  these  measures  failed 
to  pass  the  council.  Nobody  appeared  in  their  interest  excepting 
the  dairy-men.  The  women  and  doctors  of  the  city  are  to  blame, 
for  if  they  do  not  p.ersonally  come  before  the  Council  in  support 
of  proper  ordinances,  these  conditions  will  continue  to  exist.  The 
substitution  of  pasteurized  milk  when  the  original  milk  is  dirty 
is  not  a  solution  of  the  question. 


*  Annual  Report  of  Health  Officer  for  1913. 
Report  State  Board  of  Health  1910-11. 
U.  S.  Census  Mortality  Reports. 


Meat  and  Other  Food  Inspection 

Meat  and  fish  markets,  bakeries,  confectionery  places,  restaur- 
ants, groceries,  fruit  stands,  etc.,  are  regularly  inspected  and  re- 
cords kept  on  score  cards.  A  standing  committee  of  house-wives 
should  consult  these  score  cards  and  check  up  the  efficiency  of 
the  inspectors'  work  at  frequent  periods,  giving  them  proper  sup- 
port when  necessary.  The  large  slaughter  house  of  the  city  is  un- 


Mil  K  SUPPLY 

Inspection  and  Regulation  is  Necessary  for  Clean  Milk.. 

The  Health  Department  now 

/. 

Licenses  dealers 

2. 

Inspects  Stores  and  Dairies 

3. 

T^uhlishes  "scores"  on  butter  fat  onl^. 

The  Department  Should  Also 

/. 

Insist  on  low  bacterial  count  and  publish  bacterial 

score 

2. 

Insist  on  tuberculin-tested  cows 

3. 

Insist  on  delivery  of  milk  in  sealed  bottles 

4. 

Insist  on  milk  k^pt  cool  in  covered  wagons  during 

delivery. 

der  United  States  inspection,  the  other  two  are  under  local  inspec- 
tion. There  is  a  high  percentage  of  tuberculosis  found  in  slaught- 
ered hogs  in  San  Diego.  As  United  States  inspection  in  other 
places  has  meant  little  protection  to  the  consumer,  since  diseased 
portions  are  cut  out  and  the  rest  of  the  animal  used  for  food, 
the  meat  supply  of  the  city  might  well  be  the  subject  of  further 
investigation. 

Plumbing  Inspection 

The  health  department  has  a  good  plumbing  inspection  depart- 
ment consisting  of  a  chief  and  three  assistants.  At  present  the 
plumbing  department  is  making  house  to  house  inspections. 
After  the  city  has  been  entirely  inspected,  the  division  expects  to 
be  able  to  reinspect  all  plumbing  at  least  once  a  year.  Up  to  a 
year  ago  the  work  of  the  plumbing  department  consisted  entirely 
in  issuing  permits  for  new  plumbing  and  in  answering  complaints. 
Consequently  the  installation  of  the  regular  inspection  is  a  great 
step  in  advance.  Every  citizen  of  San  Diego  should  welcome 
such  inspection,  and  not  only  obey  orders,  but  take  an  intelligent 
interest  in  the  department's  efficiency. 

Sanitary   Inspection 

The  general  sanitary  inspection  is  insufficient  to  meet  the  pres- 
ent needs  of  the  city.     There  are  only  two  sanitary  inspectors. 

10 


and  one  of  these  has  to  spend  much  time  in  quarantine  and 
fumigation  work  for  contagious  diseases.  The  result  is  that 
there  is  time  for  little  more  than  the  looking  up  of  complaints. 
When  a  complaint  comes  in,  the  inspector  usually  attempts  to 
inspect  the  whole  block  where  the  complaint  occurs.  Assistance 
has  been  rendered  by  two  voluntary  inspectors,  a  good  example 
of  public  service.  No  perm.anent  card  record  system  for  the 
houses  inspected  by  the  sanitary  inspector  is  kept.  It  is  thus 
impossible  to  look  up  the  condition  of  any  particular  house  or 
block  from  the  records  of  the  health  department.  Carbon  copies 
of  orders  issued  where  repairs  have  been  made  are,  of  course, 
kept. 

Tenement,   Lodging    House   and    Hotel    Inspection 

A  state  law,  establishing  certain  standards  for  tenements, 
lodging  houses  and  hotels  went  into  effect  last  August.  Accu- 
rate card  records  of  each  place  inspected  under  this  law  are  kept. 
Reinspections  must  be  made  constantly  to  keep  them  up  to  the 
standard.  This  work  of  inspection  is  vital  if  San  Diego  is  to  have 
healthful  conditions  and  prevent  over  crowding.  The  present  in- 
spector deserves  the  support  of  every  public  spirited  citizen,  even 
though  it  may  hurt  his  pocket-book.  Before  condemning  the 
work  of  such  a  division  of  the  Health  Department,  any  intelli- 
gent citizen  should  take  the  trouble  not  only  to  read  the  law 
which  the  inspector  must  enforce,  but  also  consult  the  inspector 
and  his  records  and  understand  the  reasons  for  the  orders  given. 

Housing 

From  records  in  the  above  division  of  the  Health  Department, 
from  personal  talks  with  the  inspector  and  from  the  records  of 
other  social  agencies  as  well  as  individuals,  the  following  brief 
report  on  housing  in  San  Diego  is  made.  San  Diego  has  a  srnall 
percentage  in  the  number  of  persons  to  a  single  dwelling,  an  im- 
portant factor  bearing  directly  on  the  health  of  the  city.  More- 
over, the  city  has  a  large  number  of  small  homes,  owned  by  the 
occupants.  It  has  been  repeatedly  stated  that  San  Diego  has 
no  housing  problems;  that  there  are  no  slum  districts  and  no 
tenements.  Nevertheless,  if  one  considers  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  city,  and  looks  about  even  superficially  in  the  poorer  sections, 
these  statements  will  be  found  to  be  incorrect.  San  Diego  has 
not  a  bad  housing  problem  at  present  as  compared  with  large 
cities,  but  measures  must  be  taken  now  to  prevent  over  crowding 
and  unsanitary  homes. 

The  most  accurate  records  to  be  had  on  housing  are  the  re- 
ports of  inspections  made  in  tenements,  lodging  houses  and 
hotels.  This  work  has  been  going  on  only  since  October  first. 
About  500  places  have  been  inspected,  and  about  85  per  cent, 
have  had  to  be  repaired  to  conform  to  the  law.  Among  these 
places,  about  500  dark  rooms,  i.  e.,  without  outside  windows,  have 
already  been  found.  Of  these,  200  had  to  be  closed  for  living 
purposes.     This  in  itself  is  a  startling  record  in  an  out-of-door 

11 


country.  Under  the  state  law,  any  place  is  a  tenement  which 
houses  four  famihes,  or  three  families  making  use  of  the  same 
halls  and  toilets.  These  tenements  vary  from  the  new  and  mod- 
ern apartment  houses  to  old  buildings  and  at  one  time  better 
class  residences  now  built  over  into  housekeeping  rooms.  It  is 
in  the  latter  that  much  of  the  overcrowding  is  found.  The 
importance  of  having  the  new  and  rnodern  apartment  house  con- 
form to  the  law  is  thus  shown.  Even  in  good  apartment  house 
districts,  families  were  found  living  in  basements.  This  of  course 
is  comparatively  rare,  but  is  a  condition  which  must  be  carefully 
guarded  against,  considering  the  difficulties  other  cities  are  try- 
ing to  overcome  where  this  evil  is  great.  i     ■ 

There  are  distinctly  slum  conditions  in  San  Diego  in  sha^^s 
along  the  water  front  and  among  the  Mexicans,  negroes  smd 
whites,  in  the  tenement  houses  and  cottages  of  the  district  softi'th 
of  F  street,  and  west  of  Sixteenth  street  to  the  water  front.  One 
instance  was  given  of  a  tenement  which  housed  twenty-three  per- 
sons in  four  rooms.  This  represents  possibly  an  extreme  of  over- 
crowding in  the  tenements  but  illustrates  the  need  for  a  tenement 
house  inspector  even  in  San  Diego.  Some  of  the  worst  conditions 
were  found  in  shacks  along  the  water  front.  A  few  of  these 
have  already  been  condemned  by  the  Health  Department  and  the 
people  moved  out.  They  were  living  in  such  places,  not  from 
choice,  but  from  the  fact  that  these  places  offered  cheap  rents. 
When  the  question  of  moving  them  out  was  under  consideration, 
it  was  asked  where  they  could  go  and  get  cheap  rents.  Attention 
was  called  to  the  fact  that  they  would  only  crowd  into  some  other 
unsanitary  place  where  the  rent  was  cheap.  "They  will  have  to 
keep  moving,"  was  the  answer  of  one  official.  It  is  difficult  for 
poor  Mexicans  to  secure  cheap  rents  in  San  Diego,  consequently 
they  crowd  themselves,  several  families  into  some  old  house  or 
unsanitary  shack.  Some  of  these  latter  are  presented  to  the  view 
of  the  tourist  on  arriving.  One  or  two  instances  were  found  of 
two  room  shacks  in  very  bad  condition  renting  for  $5.00  a  month. 
One  or  two  other  instances  were  found  of  shacks  or  two  rooms  in 
a  tenement  house  rented  out  to  a  family  for  $8.00  a  month. 
However,  it  was  difficult  to  find  anything  for  a  family  even  where 
conditions  were  bad  and  there  was  over-crowding,  for  less  than 
$10.00  or  $12.00  a  month.  No  three  room  houses  with  proper 
sewer  connections  and  bath  room  were  found  for  less  than  $14.00. 
In  one  instance,  a  group  of  small  four-room  houses  with  two  fam- 
ilies in  each  house  was  found.  In  one  of  these  a  family  of  ten 
occupied  two  rooms.  The  rent  was  $10.00  a  month.  Many  old 
places  where  conditions  were  not  good  were  renting  for  $15.00 
or  even  more. 

The  cheap  lodging  houses  for  men  and  furnished  rooms  for 
single  persons  and  families,  according  to  experts  who  have  stud- 
ied the  housing  problems  of  California  cities,  are  one  of  the  most 
serious  problems  and  one  of  the  greatest  causes  of  the  spread  of 
tuberculosis  and  venereal  diseases.  San  Diego  has  had  its  full 
supply  of  such  places. 

12 


The  whole  question  of  housing,  both  in  shacks,  cottages,  old 
houses  and  lodging  houses  should  be  made  the  subject  for  a  thor- 
ough investigation,  especially  with  a  view  of  instituting  cheap 


\  EASTSMDjrCC 
\      N06 


DISTRICT   MAP 

Xo.  1.  Poorest  quarter  of  city.  Congestion  and  bad  housing.  Some 
manufacturing  plants  and  mercantile  establishments.  Xo.  2.  Chinatown  and 
old  segregated  district.  Cheap,  new  hotels,  rooming  houses,  shacks  and  old 
buildings.  Xo.  3.  Logan  Heights  district.  Old  residences  and  small  houses 
of  cheaper  grade.  Xo.  4.  Shacks  on  water  front.  Good  homes  higher  up. 
Manufacturing  plants  and  railroads.  Xo.  5.  Varies  from  best  apartments 
to  cheap  boarding  houses.  Some  residences.  Xo.  6.  Xew  small  houses.  Dis- 
trict under  development.  No.  7.  Downtown  business  district.  Other  dis- 
tricts— Best  residences  west,  south  and  east  of  park.  Include  newer  resi- 
dence sections. 


housing  for  the  working  population.  It  is  not  beyond  the  bounds 
of  possibility  for  the  city  itself  to  become  a  landlord  by  develop- 
ing cheap  housing  accomodations  on  its  extensive  pueblo  lands. 
It  has  already  established  a  precedent  for  this  by  renting  unsan- 
itary shacks  to  squatters  on  the  water  front.  Where  such  high 
rent  returns  are  expected  on  the  money  invested  there  is  bound 
to  be  over-crowding  in  the  slum  districts.  The  Mexicans,  unlike 
foreigners  in  some  of  the  eastern  cities,  do  not  choose  to  live 
crowded  in  a  few  rooms.  They  are  willing  to  live  at  the  edge  of 
the  city  and  will  even  make  their  homes  attractive  with  gardens 
if  they  can  secure  a  rental  within  their  small  wage.  There  is  a 
field  in  San  Diego  for  some  public-spirited  citizen  or  group  of 
citizens  to  build  sanitary  small  houses  close  to  a  carline,  which 
may  be  grouped  together  on  a  single  lot,  and  rented  for  a  small 


13 


sum.    An  interest  of  10  per  cent,  or  slightly  less  could  even  then 
be  realized  on  the  investment. 


Small  Houses  With  Sanitary  Accommodations.    Several  Grouped  on  One  Lot. 
A  Possible  Suggestion  for  Cheaper  Housing  for  the  City's  Wage  Earners. 


Shacks  and  Old  Buildings  Used  as  Dwellings  in  City's  Crowded  District. 


Hospital  Facilities 

The  hospital  facilities  of  the  city  are  limited.  There  are  two 
private  hospitals,  the  aggregate  capacity  of  which  is  about  170. 
No  free  beds  are  provided.  The  charges  at  both  hospitals  are 
prohibitive  for  many  people.  There  are  also  private  maternity 
hospitals  and  baby  farms  concerning  which  very  little  informa- 

14 


tion  could  be  obtained.  These  should  be  investigated  and  a  prop- 
er registration  made  under  the  Board  of  Health.  In  addition,  the 
citv  has  two  public  hospitals;  the  Health  Department  Hospital 
for  contagious  diseases,  only,  and  with  a  very  limited  capacity; 
the  other,  the  County  Hospital,  will  be  described  later.  The  only 
other  free  hospital  treatment  available  is  at  the  Children's  Home 
Hospital,  where  there  are  twelve  beds.  The  only  public  emerg- 
encv  treatment  in  the  city  is  given  by  a  physician  employed  by 
the^  police  department.  Two  rooms  at  the  police  station  are  set 
aside  for  this  work,  but  are.  such  that  the  best  results  or  even 
good  results  can  hardly  be  obtained.  An  emergency  station 
should  be  established  in  the  down-town  district  with  doctors  and 
graduate  nurses  in  attendance  day  and  night,  and  surgically  clean 
and  well-equipped  operating  rooms. 

Until  a  vear  ago  the  conditions  at  the  County  Hospital  are  said 
to  have  been  bad.  However,  at  the  present  time  the  County 
Hospital  is  under  the  management  of  a  broad-minded,  scientific 
physician.  In  spite  of  some  bad  features  which  he  has  not  yet 
been  able  to  change  from  lack  of  money  the  County  Hospital 
probably  offers  the  best  hospital  facilities  in  the  city,  with  the 
best  training  school  for  nurses,  and  with  an  unusually  fine  free 
dispensary  service.  The  hospital,  however,  should  accept  both 
free  and  pay  patients.  This  would  help  to  relieve  the  burden  of 
public  taxes',  and  take  away  the  stigma  attached  to  a  hospital  for 
the  poor  only.  Under  the  present  management  the  County  Hos- 
pital has  been  taken  out  of  politics.  The  best  physicians  and 
specialists  of  the  city  serve  on  the  hospital  visiting  staff.  _  This 
gives  the  physicians  a  chance  for  public  service,  and  likewise  for 
the  experience  and  prestige  obtained  by  such  service.  Two  in- 
terns are  employed.  The  head  of  the  training  school  and  her 
assistant,  with  the  preHminary  instructor  and  the  head  of  the 
night  nurses  are  all  graduates  from  some  of  the  best  training 
schools  in  the  country.  Hospital  conditions  are  such  now  that 
the  best  sort  of  training  can  be  given,  and  there  should  be  no 
hesitancy  in  advising  any  girl,  particularly  high  school  grad- 
uates, capable  of  becoming  nurses,  to  enter  this  hospital  training 
school.  During  1913  a  larger  number  of  persons  than  ever  be- 
fore— 1174 — were  admitted  to  the  County  Hospital.  Serious  op- 
erations were  perform.ed  on  149  persons.  The  cost  of  mainten- 
ance was  remarkably  low,  too  low  for  future  good  hospital  ser- 
vice, if  the  experience  of  other  well-managed  County  Hospitals 
is  to  be  considered.  However,  this  is  partly  explained  by  the 
fact  that  indigents  are  kept  under  the  same  management,  the 
cost  of  whose  care  is  naturally  much  less  than  for  medical  and 
surgical  cases.  The  cost  has  been  61  1-lOc  per  capita;  $1.25  per 
capita  is  held  to  be  the  minimum  for  an  efficient  County  Hospital. 
The  salary  of  the  director  is  too  low.  He  should  be  paid  enough 
to  be  able  to  give  all  of  his  time  to  the  work,  excepting  possibly 
for  consultation  practice. 

The  most  serious  criticism  of  the  hospital  at  the  present  time 
is  the  fact  that  the  city's  poor  must  be  lodged  in  the  same  build- 


15 


ing  as  the  sick,  a  situation  which  is  bad  for  both.  Likewise,  the 
tubercular  must  be  lodged  in  the  same  building  with  the  surgical 
and  medical  cases,  another  bad  feature.  Tuberculosis  pavilions 
and  cottages  for  the  indigents  should  be  built.  The  accomoda- 
tions for  the  insane  are  unsatisfactory.  Provisions  for  their 
treatment  should  be  made  the  subject  of  a  special  study.  These 
are  the  most  pressing  and  immediate  needs.  Ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  cases  now  treated  at  the  County  Hospital  are  from  the  city 
rather  than  the  county.  A  natural  division  of  responsibilities 
requires  that  the  city  should  do  its  part  by  erecting  a  modern 
and  adequate  hospital  for  contagious  diseases.  When  tubercu- 
losis cottages  are  provided  there  should  be  an  increase  in  capac- 
ity to  care  for  more  patients  than  is  now  possible  at  the  hospital. 
Separate  cottages  should  be  built  for  the  treatment  of  incipient 
and  advanced  cases  if  the  best  results  are  to  be  attained.  The  cost 
of  these  cottages  need  be  very  little, — certainly  no  cause  for  de- 
lay. The  care  of  the  tubercular  is  one  of  the  most  pressing  needs, 
and  the  first  step  in  the  campaign  to  reduce  San  Diego's  enorm- 
ous death  rate  from  this  disease.  For  the  protection  of  the  lives 
of  residents,  visiting  nurses  also  should  be  provided,  in  order  that 
those  who  can  be  treated  properly  in  their  homes  may  be  left 
there,  and  those  who  can  not  be  so  left  with  safety  may  be  taken 
to  the  hospital.  A  minor  factor,  but  one  of  importance  if  the 
most  dangerous  cases  are  to  be  reached,  is  the  changing  of  the 
name  of  the  institution  for  such  treatment  from  "County  Hos- 
pital" to  "Sea  View  Sanatorium,"  or  some  such  equally  appealing 
name. 

No  County  Hospital  can  be  most  efficiently  managed  without 
a  Social  Service  Department,  with  a  trained  worker  to  weed  out 
such  appHcants  as  do  not  need  hospital  treatment,  to  supply  the 
facts  concerning  the  conditions  causing  the  disease,  and  also  to 
follow  up  the  convalescents  when  they  leave  the  hospital,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  again  become  sick,  necessitating  renew- 
ed costly  hospital  treatment.  The  Associated  Charities  does 
give  some  such  service  as  this  to  the  hospital  when  called  upon 
but  if  the  county  had  a  trained  investigator  for  this  work  as  well 
as  the  care  of  indigents,  with  visiting  nurses  connected  with  the 
dispensary  in  the  city  such  work  could  be  most  effectively  done. 
A  dispensary  or  out-patient  department  has  been  well  equipped 
and  started  in  the  old  jail  building.  Likewise,  physicians  visit 
the  homes  of  the  indigent  sick.  Visiting  nurses  could  add  much 
to  the  present  efficiency  of  the  medical  service,  and  without  doubt 
could  actually  save  money  by  giving  proper  care,  with  the  advice 
of  the  dispensary  doctors,  to  people  in  their  own  homes.  This  at 
present  seems  not  to  be  done  because  the  county  insists  that  the 
city  should  do  this,  and  the  city,  in  turn,  insists  that  the  county 
is  responsible.  San  Diego  is  now  in  a  position  to  avoid  the  bad 
conditions  to  be  found  in  many  other  cities,  i.  e.,  several  bodies 
of  visiting  nurses  more  or  less  duplicating  each  others'  work,  and 
employed  by  different  agencies.  All  work  of  such  nurses  should 
be  centralized  from  the  dispensary,  and  under  the  management 

16 


of  the  director  of  the  dispensary  and  hospital.  This  would  pre- 
vent over  lapping,  expense,  and  lack  of  care  for  those  who  most 
need  attention.  Since  the  county  and  city  will  probably  event- 
ually be  one,  it  does  not  seem  impossible  for  them  to  unite  in  this 
public  service.  The  county,  for  instance,  might  furnish  the  med- 
ical attention  and  supplies,  and  the  city  pay  the  nurses.  If  pub- 
lic funds  are  not  available  immediately  for  this  purpose,  some 
private  organization  should  pay  for  nurses,  until  public  funds 
are  available.  At -present  the  dispensary  gives  an  average  daily 
service  to  nearly  twenty  persons,  a  good  record  for  the  length  of 
time  it  has  been  established.  Clinics  for  different  kinds  of  treat- 
ment are  given  by  physicians  at  different  hours  during  the  day. 
Many  minor  operations  are  performed  on  Saturdays  for  school 
children.  A  very  great  service  is  thus  rendered  to  the  city.  It 
would  seem  practicable  for  the  city  and  county  to  unite  at  this 
time  in  appointing  a  commission  to  plan  a  unification  of  the 
whole  public  hospital  and  dispensary  system.  Such  a  consolida- 
tion of  interests  has  been  effected  in  Cleveland. 

Tuberculosis 

In  addition  to  the  measures  already  mentioned  against  the 
spread  of  tuberculosis,  there  is  in  San  Diego  a  society  for  the 
study  and  prevention  of  tuberculosis,  which  in  spite  of  tremend- 
ous odds  has  offered  help  to  persons  afflicted  with  the  disease. 
It  deserves  greater  support  and  interest  from  the  public^ 
At  present  it  maintains  a  small  camp  situated  on  the  edge  of 
the  city.  This  camp,  if  properly  supported  financially  could  help 
much  in  relieving  the  County  Hospital  of  real  incipient  cases,  and 
in  providing  for  convalescents  by  giving  them  the  benefit  of  out- 
door living  when  they  are  able  to  do  much  for  themselves,  but 
need  some  attention.  Some  dispensary  service  is  rendered  also, 
which,  again,  if  properly  supported,  might  be  developed  to  a 
greater  degree  of  usefulness.  Either  this  should  be  done  or  such 
service  should  be  transferred  to  the  County  Dispensary.  The 
latter  seems  the  better  course.  Such  work,  if  successful,  should 
be  built  up  about  the  personality  of  certain  doctors  and  nurses. 
Greater  co-operation  between  this  Society  and  the  director  of  the 
County  Hospital  is  urged  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  both.  The 
work  of  this  Society  and  that  offered  at  the  County  Hospital  are 
the  only  provisions  made  for  tubercular  persons  within  the  reach 
of  the  working  man  and  his  family,  or  the  small  salaried  person. 

Infant  Mortality 

There  is  no  infant  hygiene  work  in  San  Diego  at  present,  and 
this  in  face  of  the  fact  that  last  year  eighty-five  babies  died  be- 
fore they  were  a  year  old,  or  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  under  five  years  of  age.  This  is  perhaps  not  large  compared 
with  the  infant  death  rate  in  eastern  industrial  cities,  but  it  is  far 
too  large  for  a  city  whose  natural  advantages  and  size  should 
make  ideal  conditions  for  babies.  It  was  impossible  from  the  fig- 
ures available  to  find  what  proportion  of  these  deaths  were  from 

17 


preventable  causes,  but  from  figures  at  hand  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
at  least  half,  probably  more,  could  have  been  prevented  if  mothers 
had  been  taught  the  proper  care  of  their  children,  and  if  there 
had  been  a  safe  milk  supply.  Visiting  nurses,  for  teaching  infant 
hygiene  are  one  of  the  first  necessities,  if  a  reduction  in  the 
number  of  infant  deaths  is  to  be  made.  It  might  be  possible  to 
use  a  public  school  building  in  the  congested  district  of  the 
southwestern  section  of  the  city  as  an  infant  welfare  and  milk 
station  for  such  nurses.     This  has  been  done  with  success  in 


INF  A  NT  MOR  TALITY 

Eighty-five  San  T)iego  babies  under  one  year  of  age  died  in 
1 9 13.      Most  of  them  should  have  lived. 

Four  Ways  for  the  Health  T)epartment  to  Save  Babies 

1 .  By  popular  health  education 

2.  By  advice  to  mothers 

3.  By  an  infant  welfare  station  with  visitiug  nurses. 

4.  By  a  pure  milk  supply. 

Shall  We  Prevent  This  Needless  Tragedy  Next  Year? 


other  cities.  There  is,  furthermore,  a  need  for  a  free  day  nurs- 
ery in  San  Diego,  where  working  mothers  can  leave  their  babies 
in  the  care  of  trained  nurses  while  away  from  home.  There  is  one 
such  private  pay  institution  in  the  city  but  with  limited  capacity 
and  doing  its  work  under  unsatisfactory  conditions.  Why  should 
large  sums  of  public  money  be  paid  for  children  as  soon  aa  they 
become  of  school  age,  when  possibly  irreparable  injury  has  al- 
ready been  done  them  by  lack  of  care  and  proper  nutrition  be- 
fore they  have  reached  that  age?  Why  is  it  that  in  as  rich  a 
city  as  San  Diego  there  is  no  money  in  the  pubHc  treasury  for 
dying  babies  ?  I  am  told  that  when  San  Diego  was  a  small  town 
the  people  were  up  in  arms  whenever  a  baby  died,  and  demanded 
to  know  the  reason  for  such  an  unusual  occurrence.  Now  that 
the  town  has  grown  to  a  city,  people  have  forgotten  to  ask  why 
their  neighbors'  babies  are  dying,  and  have  forgotten  to  offer 
neighborly  assistance  to  mothers  to  prevent  such  catastrophes. 

Brief  Summary  of  Recommendations 

Extension  of  the  sewer  system  and  change  in  method  of  sew- 
age disposal.  Proper  refuse  and  garbage  collection  and  disposal. 
Appointment  of  visiting  nurses,  which  shall  include  special  baby 
welfare,  tuberculosis  and  general  nurses.  A  plan  for  uniting 
city  and  county  public  hospital  and  dispensary  work.  The  pass- 
ing of  city  ordinances  providing  a  pure  milk  supply.  A  full  time 
health  officer.  Further  investigation  of  housing  with  a  view  to- 
ward supplying  sanitary  small  houses. 

18 


PUBLIC  EDUCATION 

Public  Schools 

The  school  situation  in  San  Diego  is  unique  in  that  there  are 
within  the  city  hmits,  a  variety  of  types  of  pubHc  schools.  There 
is  the  purely  rural  ungraded  school,  with  few  pupils,  typical  of 
the  country  community,  and  usually  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
county  superintendent;  there  is  also  the  suburban  graded  school 
of  two  or  more  rooms,  typical  of  the  small  town  or  village  com- 
munity having  a  population  of  from  one  to  over  five  thousand; 
again  there  is  the  small  grammar  school  of  all  grades,  typical  of 
the  city  with  a  population  of  from  ten  to  thirty  thousand ;  finally 
there  are  the  over-crowded  city  schools,  typical  of  the  city  of 
more  than  fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  These  conditions  compli- 
cate the  administration  of  educational  affairs  which  are  entrust- 
ed to  a  board  of  five  members  elected  for  a  four  year  term.  The 
present  Board  is  making  an  effort  to  look  upon  the  Superintend- 


The  Grant  Open  Air  Public  School.     An  Admirable  Type  of  Building  Suited 

to  the  'Climate. 


ent  as  an  expert' who  shall  be  solely  responsible  for  the  educa- 
tional administration.  Until  this  is  in  reality  the  attitude  of  the 
Board  toward  the  Superintendent,  San  Diego's  schools  must  re- 
main more  or  less  an  asset  of  the  pohticians,  and  the  responsi- 
bility for  giving  value  received  in  the  school  system  continue  to 
be  shifted  between  the  Board  and  the  Superintendent  in  the 
public  mind.  In  some  cities,  the  Board  of  Education  is  an  un- 
salaried, appointive  body,  and  for  this  reason,  less  in  politics. 

19 


Along  with  San  Diego's  rapid  growth  in  population,  the  school 
enrollment  has  increased  tremendously,  thus  making  it  very  diffi- 
cult to  provide  sufficient  school  rooms  and  teachers.  Strenuous  ef- 
forts have  resulted  in  a  progressive  system  built  up  in  the  face  of 
great  obstacles.  There  are  too  many  pupils  per  teacher  and 
overcrowded  rooms  and  buildings,  but  the  situation  is  being  met 
as  fast  as  possible.  With  heavy  demands  upon  the  building  fund 
careful  consideration  must  be  given  to  the  type  of  building  to  be 
constructed.  It  is  pointed  out  that  the  new  Washington  school 
accomodating  750  pupils  was  built  at  a  per  capita  cost  of  $130  for 
plant  alone ;  the  Grant,  accomodating  200,  at  a  per  capita  cost  of 
$95.  The  former  has  an  expensive  ventilating  and  heating  plant 
and  the  latter  is  an  open-air  building  admirably  suited  to  the 
climate. 

The   High   School 

The  High  School  has  recently  opened  technical  departments 
giving  courses  in  the  mechanical  arts  and  home  economics.  It  is 
stated  that  30  per  cent,  of  all  the  pupils  take  work  in  the  well 
established  commercial  department  and  nearly  all  find  local  posi- 
tions, many  before  graduating.  The  work  of  the  technical  de- 
partments simply  furnishes  opportunity  for  finding  vocational 
aptitudes.  Vocational  guidance  is  not  attempted,  although  42 
per  cent,  of  the  boys  work  outside  of  school  hours  from  four  to 
forty  hours  per  week,  and  many  girls  earn  their  way  also.  The 
Higt  School  plant  cost  a  half -million  dollars  and  is  in  operation 
two-thirds  of  the  working  days  of  the  year  for  seven  hours  per 
day.  Consequently,  it  is  idle  about  half  the  time.  Since  not 
more  than  50  per  cent,  of  the  students  entering  the  Freshman 
Class  graduate,  it  is  clear  that  the  community  is  not  receiving  a 
fair  return,  in  terms  of  efficiently  trained  youth,  for  its  invest- 
ment. In  other  words,  the  High  School  does  not  function  in  pro- 
portion to  its  equipment. 

Physical  Training 

The  physical  training  department  seems  to  be  well  administ- 
ered on  the  formal  side,  but  the  feature  of  folk  dancing  and 
plays  and  games  involving  much  free  movement  needs  far  more 
emphasis.  In  general,  a  way  should  be  devised  to  secure  larger 
playgrounds  and  more  apparatus  for  the  schools.  Even  under 
present  conditions,  however,  co-operation  between  the  Board  of 
Playground  Commissioners  and  the  schools  would  mean  money 
saved  and  a  larger  good  to  the  districts  served  by  each  organiza- 
tion. For  example,  the  school  yards  might  be  enlarged  and  used 
as  public  play  grounds  under  the  control  of  the  Commission,  after 
school  hours,  while  the  school  buildings  could  be  used  as  field 
houses. 

Dropping   Out  and  Truancy 

A  system  of  semi-annual  promotion  goes  far  toward  preventing 
the  usual  loss  of  time  to  pupils  obliged  to  repeat  work.    By  this 

20 


means  a  child  loses  but  half  a  year,  and  the  city  saves  money.  A 
still  further  saving  might  be  effected  if  there  were  an  all-year 
school  divided  into  four  quarters.  This  system  has  been  adopted 
in  Cleveland.  The  over-age  child  in  all  grades  should  be  studied 
to  determine  the  cause  of  his  weakness.  Such  a  study  would  be 
valuable  in  the  solution  of  the  foreign-child  problem.  The  Mex- 
ican children  are  found  principally  in  the  crowded  down-town 
schools  and  are  not  only  irregular  in  their  attendance  but  drop 
out  soon  after  reaching  the  age  of  twelve.  In  most  cities  the 
numbers  dropping  out  between  the  fourth  and  seventh  grades 
are  sufficient  to.  cause  alarm.  There  is  no  data  for  determining 
the  number  of  children  dropping  out  of  the  grades  in  San  Diego, 
nor  for  showing  the  relation  between  the  children  of  school  age 
in  the  district  and  those  actually  in  school.  Also  there  is  no  org- 
anized follow-up  system  of  children  transferred  to  other  schools 
within  the  city  or  elsewhere.  This  may  account  for  some  of  the 
children  found  during  this  Survey  who  are  neither  in  school  nor 
at  work.  The  fact  that  "this  is  a  tourist  town"  is  an  inadequate 
and  unscientific  reason,  for  there  is  too  large  a  number  of  idle 
youth  observable  at  least  in  the  crowded  districts.  There  is  ap- 
parently a  discrepancy  between  the  number  of  working  permits 
issued  and  the  number  of  children  at  work  about  the  city.  The 
record  shows  43  permits  issued,  during  the  present  school  year, 
32  of  which  are  held  by  children  who  have  not  completed  the 
eighth  grade.  The  attendance  officer  reports  practically  no  tru- 
ancy in  the  city,  but  there  are  children  on  the  street  and  at  work 
during  school  hours  and  even  those  who  have  never  been  at  school 
at  all.  A  census  of  all  children  of  school  age  in  the  city,  and  h 
systematic  check  on  the  children  transferring  and  dropping  out 
would  help  to  determine  the  situation  exactly.  There  are  no 
night  schools  nor  continuation  classes  for  young  people  in  em- 
ployment. In  two  stores  there  are  continuation  classes.  The  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  has  a  small  enrollment  in  a  commercial  and  a  drawing 
class.  The  Y.  W.  C.  A.  offers  class  work  in  domestic  science, 
sewing,  millinery,  etc.  However,  this  at  best  is  limited  to  a  com- 
paratively small  number.  A  few  classes  exist  in  Missions  and  the 
Free  Industrial  School,  for  teaching  English  to  foreigners.  How- 
ever, all  of  these  together  do  not  reach  the  great  number  that 
could  be  reached  by  the  public  schools.  In  offering  such  oppor- 
tunities, the  school  plants  could  find  a  legitimate  use. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  the  school  system  ap- 
pears well  organized  and  the  progressive  element  concerned  in 
its  administration  seems  to  be  moving  along  lines  that  make  for 
constructive  progress.  But  with  equal  justice,  a  few  of  the  more 
obvious  needs  of  San  Diego's  schools  may  be  shown  as  the  result 
of  this  brief  survey,  in  the  following  summary. 

More  open-air  school  buildings  of  the  type  of  the  Grant  and 
Jefferson,  which  should  embody  the  idea  typified  in  the  new 
Francis  Parker  School,  a  private  institution,  of  a  minimum  ex- 
pense for  the  building  itself,  with  the  standard  amount  of  light 

21 


and  air,  hygienic  seating,  sanitary  plumbing,  and  convenient  and 
modern  equipment  for  every  phase  of  school  work. 

The  acquisition  of  more  playground  space  around  the  various 
buildings  and  their  use  outside  of  school  hours  under  proper  sup- 
ervision, in  co-operation  with  the  Board  of  Playground  Commis- 
sioners. 

Reorganization  of  the  over-crowded  schools  so  that  each  teach- 
er may  have  no  more  pupils  than  she  can  properly  handle.  This 
result  might  be  gained  by  an  adaptation  of  the  so-called  Gary 
plan — giving  pupils  lockers  instead  of  desks;  having  special 
teachers  of  music,  drawing,  etc.,  assigned  permanently  to  one 
building;  and  arranging  a  daily  program  which  would  require 
some  groups  to  do  all  of  their  special  work  in  the  morning,  and 
their  academic  work  in  the  afternoon  and  vice  versa.  The  adop- 
tion of  some  such  plan  would  keep  the  whole  plant  in  full  opera- 
tion. There  would  be  no  idle  space  within  or  without  at  any  hour 
of  any  day.  It  would  require  more  teachers  but  would  relieve  the 
congestion  now  existing  in  too  many  of  the  buildings. 

Improvement  in  meeting  the  needs  of  the  over-age,  non-English 
speaking  child.  This  means  not  only  teaching  him  to  read  intel- 
ligently, but  to  interpret  the  life  around  him  as  a  means  toward 
making  him  a  good  citizen. 

Some  form  of  continuation  classes  for  children  working  on 
temporary  working  certificates  and  for  those  who  have  com- 
pleted the  eighth  grade  and  find  the  High  School  courses  not 
adapted  to  their  needs. 

A  vocational  purpose  to  a  part  or  all  of  the  technical  work  in 
the  High  School.  The  basis  for  such  re-organization  would  be 
found  in  the  results  of  a  vocational  survey  of  the  city  and  county, 
showing:  (a)  what  vocational  opportunities  are  open  to  stu- 
dents leaving  school  before  graduation  as  well  as  to  graduates, 

(b)  what  opportunities  for  advancement  each  vocation  offers, 

(c)  what  are  the  futureless  occupations,     (d)      what  are  the 
health  conditions  of  each  occupation. 

The  department  of  public  instruction  should  include  a  Voca- 
tional Guidance  Bureau:  (a)  to  instruct  parents  and  pupils 
regarding  the  desirabihty  of  various  occupations,  (b)  to  de- 
termine the  natural  abilities  which  are  required  in  each  occupa- 
tion, (c)  to  determine  the  training  necessary  or  desirable  be- 
fore entering  each  vocation,  (d)  to  bring  together  the  em- 
ployer who  has  a  position  to  offer  and  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  fitted 
for  the  position. 

There  should  be  more  school  doctors  and  graduate  nurses.  The 
present  medical  inspection  of  10,000  children  is  made  by  one  phy- 
sician and  two  nurses,  one  graduate  and  one  practical.  It  is 
perfectly  clear  that  good  as  the  plan  may  be,  the  force  for  carry- 
ing it  into  effect  is  inadequate. 

Further  recommendations  are :  more  kindergartens ;  more  free 
play  and  folk  dancing;  aboHshment  of  the  roller  towel,  (paper 
towels  should  be  supplied)  ;  a  trial  of  the  all-year  school  plan; 

22 


special  attention  to  the  care  of  chronic  truants  and  dehnquent 
children,  (the  present  "coaching  rooms"  do  not  meet  the  need  for 
the  training  of  so-called  incorrigibles,  and  children  somewhat 
mentally  deficient)  ;  wider  use  of  the  school  plant  as  civic  centers 
and  for  night  schools  for  foreigners ;  development  of  Parent- 
Teacher  Associations ;  finally,  an  intensive  survey  of  the  whole 
educational  field  by  disinterested  experts  outside  the  school  sys- 
tem. 

Public  Library 

The  city  has  an  $80,000  Carnegie  Library,  centrally  located. 
By  referendum  vote,  a  minimum  of  four  mills  from  the  city  tax 
funds  are  set  aside  for  library  expenses.  Last  year,  $24,000.00 
was  spent  for  this  purpose.  The  library  has  outgrown  its  pres- 
ent quarters  and  does  not  render  adequate  service.  Moreover, 
sub-stations  are  needed  in  the  home  districts.  At  present,  four 
public  schools  have  from  25  to  50  books  from  the  public  library, 
and  these  are  distributed  by  teachers.  Residents  in  one  school 
neighborhood  contributed  out  of  their  own  pockets  toward  build- 
ing small  quarters  on  the  school  grounds,  to  be  occupied  as  a  li- 
brary sub-station.  An  assistant  whose  salary  will  be  paid  out  of 
the  library  fund  is  to  be  placed  in  charge.  At  the  suburb  of  La 
Jolla  a  branch  library  is  maintained  with  an  assistant  in  charge. 
Such  facilities  as  are  now  offered  do  not  meet  the  needs  of  home 
sections  of  the  city  which  are  not  served  conveniently  at  the  main 
library  building.  The  library  itself,  should  provide  sufficient  sub- 
stations with  assistants  m  charge  who  shall  not  only  adequately 
supply  the  needs  of  the  reading  public,  in  different  sections  of 
the  city,  but  also  shall  be  capable  of  awakening  a  wider  demand 
for  public  library  books. 


23 


RECREATION 

San  Diego  offers  exceptionally  varied  and  extensive  natural 
advantages  for  recreation,  with  its  land-locked  harbor,  beaches, 
back  country,  and  near-by  mountains.  The  climate  is  temperate 
throughout  the  year  and  there  is  a  low  rainfall ;  these  two  factors 
especially  making  for  an  ideal  out-of-door  country.  In  addition, 
the  city  has  most  unique  opportunities  for  developing  public  re- 
creational facilities  through  its  ownership  of  large  tracts  of 
pueblo  lands  adjoining  the  settled  portions  of  the  city.  Balboa 
Park,  the  city's  main  public  park,  com.prising  1400  acres,  and 
reached  in  a  fifteen  minute  walk  from  the  down  town  section  of 
the  city,  offers  splendid  possibilities  for  recreational  develop- 
ment. 

The  city  has  begun  to  realize  upon  these  opportunities  through 
its  Municipal  Board  of  Playground  Commissioners  and  Play- 
ground Association.  This  commission  already  has  in  operation, 
the  Rose  Park  Playground,  located  on  an  entire  city  block  at 
Eleventh  and  I  streets,  with  an  area  of  one  and  two-fifths  acres. 
The  grounds  are  well  equipped  with  play  apparatus  and  super- 


Adults  as  Well  as  Children  Need  Public  Recreation  Places.     Mexicans  Play- 
ing Game  Resembling  Quoits  on  Vacant  Lot  in  Crowded  Section  of  City. 


vised  by  men  and  women  directors.  They  are  open  every  after- 
noon and  evening  with  a  daily  attendance  of  about  160.  Boys' 
and  girls'  clubs  meet  regularly  here,  with  the  organization  of 
boy  scouts  and  camp  fire  girls  as  special  features.  In  addition, 
the  Playground  Commission  has  been  given  50  acres  in  Balboa 

24 


Park ;  10  acres  of  this  will  be  developed,  to  be  known  as  Golden 
Hill  Playground.  A  field  house  already  has  been  erected  with  an 
assembly  room  accomodating  about  300.  This  building  is  open 
for  evening  work  and  is  used  by  organizations  of  adults  as  well 
as  children,  for  dancing  and  club  meetings.  About  two  acres  of 
land  have  already  been  graded  for  the  University  Heights  Play- 
ground, apparatus  has  been  provided,  and  the  playground  is 
ready  for  occupancy. 

School  house  grounds  are  used  to  some  extent  by  school  chil- 
dren as  play  spaces.  These  are  equipped  with  a  limited  amount 
of  apparatus  as  baskets  for  basket  ball  courts,  swings  and  see- 
saws. They  are  used  at  recess  time  and  during  noon  hours,  gen- 
erally under  supervision  of  teachers.  A  fine  opportunity  is  of- 
fered especially  at  the  newer  schools  where  there  is  considerable 
play  space,  to  make  more  extended  use  of  the  grounds  outside  of 
school  hours,  under  regular  supervision,  possibly  under  direction 
of  the  Board  of  Playground  Commissioners.  No  general  attempt 
is  made  at  present  to  use  the  school  buildings  as  evening  recrea- 
tional centers  for  the  organizations  of  boys'  or  girls'  clubs.  Nor 
has  provision  been  made  for  evening  entertainment  as  dancing 
under  proper  supervision,  for  the  young  people  of  a  particular 
neighborhood.  There  is  a  single  exception  to  this.  At  one  pub- 
lic school  a  regular  Fridaj^  night  dance  for  students  and  friends 
is  now  held.  Such  use  of  the  schools  as  recreational  centers  and 
social  centers  as  well,  that  is,  for  the  use  of  such  organizations 
as  the  various  neighborhood  Improvement  Clubs,  might  well  be 
placed  in  charge  of  a  special  director  of  school  centers.  This  is 
done  at  present  in  other  cities.  The  duties  of  the  director  would 
be  not  only  to  supply  the  demand  for,  but  create  interest  in, 
healthful  and  wholesome  forms  of  amusement,  which  would  cater 
to  the  needs  of  each  locality.  In  this  way,  the  less  wholesome  in- 
fluence of  down-town  commercialized  amusement  places  would 
be  successfully  counteracted. 

Public  Baths 

The  city  has  no  free  baths  or  bath  houses  excepting  the  ex- 
tremely limited  accomodations  at  the  field  houses  at  Rose  Park 
and  Golden  Hill  Playgrounds.  This,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there 
is  a  splendid  stretch  of  bay  front  along  the  city  tide-lands,  with 
special  natural  facilities  for  safe,  all-the-year  bathing.  Already 
application  has  been  made  to  the  City  Council  by  the  Board  of 
Playground  Commissioners  for  two  blocks  of  city  tide-lands  to 
be  used  for  bathing  purposes.  A  single  important  drawback,  to 
this  use  of  the  water  front  for  public  bathing  facilities,  is  the 
fact  that  at  present  the  waters  of  the  bay  are  polluted  by  the 
city's  sewage.  The  "harbor  is  nothing  but  a  cesspool"  was  the 
statement  of  a  person  in  autliority.  It  is  evident  that  a  proper 
disposal  of  the  city's  sewage  should  be  made  immediately.  The 
popularity  of  the  San  Diego  Rowing  Club,  the  admission  fee  for 
which  is  prohibitive  to  the  ordinary  wage  earner,  indicates  a 
possible  future  undertaking  for  the  city  in  renting  row  boats  at 
a  small  fee.    It  is  unfortunate  that  the  main  amusement  resort, 

25 


the  Coney  Island  of  the  city,  at  Ocean  Beach,  can  only  be  reached 
by  payment  of  25c  for  the  round  trip,  a  rather  prohibitive  price 
for  a  considerable  number  of  amusement  seekers. 

Saloons 

San  Diego  has  55  saloons,  or  one  for  every  1400  inhabitants. 
This  ratio  upholds  the  reputation  of  Southern  California  as  a 
comparatively  "dry"  section  of  the  state.  It  is  stated  on  good 
authority  that  the  laws  prohibiting  serving  liquor  to  minors  or 
allowing  them  to  remain  in  saloons  are  strictly  enforced.  No 
liquor  is  served  at  the  few  public  dance  halls  in  the  city,  and 
no  saloons  are  run  directly  in  connection  with  the  dance  halls. 
Howeve'r,  at  one  dance  hall  at  least,  return  checks  are  given  at 
the  door  and  an  opportunity  is  thus  offered  patrons  to  frequent 
saloons  in  the  neighborhood  between  dances.  One  public  dance 
hall  at  least,  is  under  suspicion  as  the  resort  of  prostitutes. 
Minors  under  16  are  forbidden  by  ordinance  to  remain  in  pool 
and  billiard  rooms  unaccompanied  by  parents  or  guardians.  Boys 
and  young  men  frequent  these  places  and  the  attendance  is  par- 
ticularly heavy  on  Sunday  afternoons.  The  influence  of  such 
places  is  bad. 

Movies 

Regulation  of  moving  picture  shows  is  a  question  of  special  im- 
portance both  because  of  the  low  price  of  admission,  and  their 
popularity  v\'ith  children  as  well  as  adults.  The  city  has  at  pres- 
ent a  total  of  17  "movies"  with  a  seating  capacity  of  about  8800. 
There  is  no  public  censorship  board,  such  as  those  in  operation 
in  the  larger  cities  of  the  country,  to  exclude  vulgar  or  vicious 
pictures.  The  only  remedy  at  present  is  police  interference  on 
complaint  of  citizens.  This  has  not  been  found  satisfactory  in 
other  cities.  There  is  no  ordinance  as  in  other  cities  prohibiting 
the  attendance  of  a  minor  under  a  certain  age  unaccompanied  by 
a  parent  or  guardian.  Safety  protection  for  patrons  at  moving 
picture  shows  is  looked  after  by  the  building  department.  Cer- 
tain conditions,  however,  exist  which  are  not  altogether  satis- 
factory. For  example,  in  one  picture  house,  there  is  a  wooden 
wall  betvfc^een  the  auditorium  and  the  adjoining  building  which  is 
used  as  a  place  of  emergency  exit.  This  is  apparently  in  viola- 
tion of  the  law.  Another  picture  house  has  had  an  emergency 
exit  opening  into  the  kitchen  of  a  dairy  lunch — not  an  ideal  ar- 
rangement. Additional  instances  of  undue  carelessness  in  the 
matter  of  fire  protection  could  be  cited.  The  operators'  booths 
need  close  inspection,  both  to  provide  healthful  work  conditions 
for  the  machine  operators,  and  to  guard  against  the  not  infre- 
quent fires  which  catch  from  the  films.  Picture  houses  should 
not  be  kept  in  comparative  darkness.  The  pictures  are  improved 
if  presented  in  a  fairly  well  lighted  room,  and  improper  conduct 
on  the  part  of  men  patrons  toward  women  and  girls  is  thus  pre- 
■yented. 

The  need  for  additional  public  recreational  facilities  in  the 
city  is  immediate  and  pressing.    Such  facilities  are  required  for 

25 


both  adults  and  juveniles,  especially  for  the  latter.  Although 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  a  growing  boys'  club  organization,  and  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  provides  recreation  for  women  and  young  girls, 
neither  agency  can  begin  to  meet  the  entire  needs  of  the  city. 
Both  of  these  agencies  require  a  membership  fee,  are  religious 
in  character,  and  do  not  reach  the  poorest  in  the  community. 
The  Free  Industrial  School  is  located  in  the  district  where  boys' 
and  girls'  club  work  is  much  needed,  but  at  present  it  does  not 
meet  the  existing  need  because  there  is  a  lack  of  volunteer  work- 
ers and  the  present  management  is  unable  to  handle  the  situa- 
tion. Last  summer  in  one  locality,  seventy  boys  were  brought 
together  for  an  evening's  entertainment,  with  but  little  effort, 
by  a  boys'  club  organizer  temporarily  at  work.  There  is  no  agency 
in  that  particular  locality  which  adequately  meets  the  needs  for 
boys'  club  organizations.  In  several  sections  of  the  city,  boys' 
gangs  now  flourish.  Such  gangs  seek  their  amusement  on  the 
city  water  front  where  influences  are  bad,  or  have  their  camps 
in  the  canyons  revelling  in  indecent  stories,  cigarette  smoking, 
and  crap  shooting.  The  city  through  its  Board  of  Playground 
Commissioners,  and  its  school  centers  yet  to  be  established,  must 
meet  this  need  for  wholesome  recreation.  Otherwise,  the  com- 
munity's children  must  be  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  com- 
mercial amusement  places  such  as  the  public  dance  hall,  with 
their  questionable  influence  for  good  and  frequently  most  cer- 
tain influence  for  evil. 


27 


DELINQUENCY 

The  police  department  of  San  Diego  numbers  90  men,  or  in  the 
proportion  of  one  to  about  900  inhabitants.  San  Diego  compares 
favorably  with  Eastern  cities  in  this  respect,  the  general  stand- 
ard in  the  East  being  one  officer  to  each  thousand  inhabitants. 

About  a  year  ago,  the  police  department  gave  commercialized 
vice  a  telling  blow  when  they  closed  the  restricted,  or  "Stingaree" 
district,  and  drove  the  women  and  their  male  companions  who 
were  profiting  from  vice,  from  town.  A  number  of  the  close 
packed  cribs  in  which  the  women  plied  their  trade  were  torn 
down.  Since  then  the  police  have  maintained  this  policy,  direct- 
ed against  the  segregation  of  vice  and  its  implied  sanction  under 
the  law.  At  present  certain  hotels  and  a  number  of  rooming 
houses  are  under  suspicion  as  the  resort  of  prostitutes,  and  the 
men  who  trade  with  them.  Only  a  thorough  investigation  will 
reveal  present  conditions  in  the  city. 

County  Jail 

The  new  county  jail  is  a  model  of  its  kind  and  efficiently  man- 
aged. The  worst  feature  of  the  jail  is  that  its  inmates  are  kept 
in  idleness,  except  for  a  few  trusties,  who  do  the  necessary  work 
of  cleaning  up.  A  chain  gang  from  the  jail  formerly  worked  on 
the  outside,  but  this  practice  was  discontinued,  it  is  understood, 
because  of  the  citizens'  protests  against  parading  the  men  before 
the  public.  This  is  a  short-sighted  policy.  Effort  should  be  made 
to  put  the  "honor"  men  at  least  at  work  at  county  road  build- 
ing. This  is  being  attempted  in  one  other  county  in  this  state, 
to  the  writer's  knowledge,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  the 
practice  in  the  Middle  West.  The  men  serve  an  average  sentence 
of  six  months.  No  reading  matter  is  provided  them  excepting 
magazines.  In  New  York  State,  the  state  prison  association  pro- 
vides libraries  in  the  different  prisons. 

At  the  city  lock-up,  six  men  were  confined  at  the  time  of  the 
writer's  visit,  who  had  been  sentenced  for  minor  offenses  and 
for  short  terms,  in  the  city  police  court.  They  "asked  to  be  kept 
at  the  lock-up  instead  of  at  the  county  jail  because  they  can 
get  more  privileges."  These  men  were  being  kept  in  idleness 
excepting  for  the  work  of  cleaning  up  about  the  lock-up.  One  or 
possibly  two  men  would  be  sufficient  for  such  work.  The  re- 
mainder should  be  transferred  to  the  county  jail. 

Juvenile  Court 

The  judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  hears  all  cases  of  girl  de- 
linquents in  his  private  chambers.  Hearings  of  boy  delinquents 
are  held  in  a  large  court  room  in  the  county  court  house,  and 
court  proceedings  are  carried  on  in  an  informal  manner.  The 
boys'  cases  might  better  be  held,  as  are  the  girls,'  in  a  small 

28 


private  room,  with  an  adjoining  room  for  delinquents  and  wit- 
nesses while  awaiting  their  turn.    Thus  the  idle  public  would  be 
excluded  as  spectators  and  the  proceedings  would  be  kept  entirely 
free  from  the  atmosphere  of  the  court  room.    It  is  not  .necessary 
for  the  judge  to  impress  the  boy  or  girl  with  the  dignity  of  the 
court  so  much  as  to  put  himself  on  immediate  confidential  terms 
with  his  young  charges.     In  the  County  Juvenile  court,  there 
are  three  paid  probation  officers,  two  women  and  one  man.    The 
time  of  one  woman  probation  officer,  however,  is  taken  up  en- 
tirely by  office  work.    There  is  no  volunteer  system  of  probation 
officers,  although  a  Big-Brother  movement  has  been  instituted 
recently.     In  addition  to  caring  for  juvenile  probationers,  and 
investigating  cases  at  trial,  the  man  probation  officer  and  single 
woman  officer,  available  for  probation  work,  also  care  for  adults 
released  on  probation.    Each  officer  attempts  to  care  for  about 
150  probationers,  which  is  a  task  beyond  reason.     In  the  New 
York  City  Juvenile  Court  only  about  40  probationers  are  as- 
signed to  a  single  probation  officer.     In  San  Diego,  if  an  office 
clerk  were  engaged  at  a  salary  of  $75.00  a  month,  the  woman 
probation  officer  now  receiving  $100.00  a  month,  and  kept  entire- 
Iv  at  office  work,  could  be  transferred  to  do  actual  probation  work. 
The  present  situation  is  relieved  to  some  extent,  however,  by 
the  work  accompHshed  through  the  recently  informally  estab- 
lished Juvenile  Bureau  of  the  Police  Department.     This  bureau 
handles  children's  cases  coming  to  the  attention  of  the  Depart- 
ment and  co-operates  to  some  extent  with  the  County  Juvenile 
Probation  officers.    The  bureau  is  operated  by  a  specially  appoint- 
ed woman  police  officer,  and  two  policemen.    It  is  fortunate  per- 
haps, that  while  the  county  probation  officers  are  carrying  too 
heavy  a  burden  of  work,  the  city's  police  department  is  kindly 
disposed  toward  juvenile  offenders,  that  it  gives  them  "another 
chance"  and  places  them  under  an  informal  probation  through 
its  Children's  Bureau.     However,  the  police  department  of  San 
Diego,  or  of  any  other  city,  have  too  much  of  the  odor  of  re- 
pression and  punishment  to  make  such  influence  really  beneficial. 
Efficient  juvenile  probation  w^ork  for  the  whole  city  demands  a 
more  unified  system  than  this,  if  only  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
accurate  records  of  the  city's  child  delinquents.     Such  divided 
responsibility  in  handling  juveniles  can  only  result  in  confusion 
and  inefficiency  and  establishes  a  dangerous  precedent.     Both 
the  city  and  county  probation  work  should  be  carried  on  under 
a  single  head,  the  county  probation  office.    In  this  way,  the  evi- 
dent intent  of  the  state  juvenile  court  law  would  be  carried  out. 
A  word  should  be  said  regarding  the  sensational  printing  by  the 
newspapers  of  details  regarding  so-called  juvenile  crime,  such 
details  including  the  names  and  pictures  of  the  offenders.     In 
some  cities  the  newspapers  have  agreed  among  themselves  to 
exclude  such  stories  for  the  good  of  the  children  as  well  as  the 
community.    San  Diego's  daily  papers  might  well  profit  by  this 
example. 

29 


In  the  city  police  court,  and  in  the  other  two  justice  courts,  it 
is  customary  for  the  judge  to  release  adults  convicted  of  minor 
offenses  on  an  informal  probation.  An  investigation  should  be 
made  to  determine  the  need  for  a  paid  probation  officer's  services 
for  adults  in  these  courts.  This  investigation  should  show  also 
how  far  adult  probation  is  employed  in  the  county  courts  and 
the  need  for  supplementing  the  present  work  of  the  County  Juv- 
enile Court  officers  in  this  respect.  Adult  probation  is  quite  as 
much  needed  as  juvenile  probation  if  the  criminal  laws  are  to  be 
tempered  with  practical  efforts  at  reforming  the  offenaer. 

County  Detention  Home 

The  County  Detention  Home  is  by  no  means  a  credit  to  the 
city  and  county.  Thirty  children  have  been  crowded  into  accom- 
modations for  eighteen.  At  times  two  boys  are  obliged  to  sleep 
in  one  small  room.  The  girls  must  go  to  their  rooms  in  the  even- 
ing as  they  have  no  common  sitting  room.  Both  girls  and  boys 
have  sleeping  accomodations  under  the  same  roof.  Its  name  is 
misleading  since  not  only  are  children  kept  here  awaiting  trial, 
but  for  some  length  of  time  as  in  any  home  for  children.  It 
does  not  "detain,"  as  it  has  no  provision  for  caring  for  the  boys 
or  girls  who  are  runaways  and  who  must  be  kept  safely  while 
awaiting  trial.  It  is  not  surprising  then  that  children  under 
sixteen  are  held  occasionally  for  safe  keeping  in  the  city  lock-up 
and  county  jail.  It  is  understood  that  they  are  kept  from  older 
prisoners,  it  is  true,  in  both  places,  but  if  the  county  jail  is 
crowded,  this  is  difficult  to  accomplish.  Quarters  for  a  detention 
home  should  be  obtained  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  County  Court 
House,  and  not  twenty-five  minutes  ride  from  the  center  of  the 
city  as  is  the  case  with  the  present  detention  home.  Provision 
should  be  made  for  safely  guarding  children  while  awaiting  trial. 
To  illustrate  the  present  lack  of  method  in  providing  for  juveniles 
and  the  need  for  public  institutional  care,  the  following  instance 
may  be  cited.  A  dependent  child,  a  girl  15  years  of  age,  was  re- 
ferred to  the  County  Probation  Office.  Until  this  child  could  be 
sent  East  to  relatives  she  was  kept  successively  at  the  Door  of 
Hope,  a  small  private  institution  for  young  delinquent  women,  at 
the  Detention  Home,  at  the  County  Hospital,  and  at  the  County 
Jail. 

It  is  recommended  that  present  institutional  methods  of  caring 
for  juveniles  in  San  Diego  be  examined  to  find  out  whether 
there  is  not  an  immediate  need  for  a  training  school  for  boys 
and  girls,  preferably  on  the  Farm 'Colony  plan,  such  a  home  to 
be  located  on  the  city's  pueblo  lands.  The  building  by  the  county 
of  a  new  and  larger  home  for  children  upon  this  plan  would 
seem  the  logical  step  to  take.  As  already  suggested,  additional 
probation  officers  are  much  needed,  and  there  should  be  a  de- 
tention home  for  children  awaiting  trial,  to  be  located  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  County  Court  House. 


30 


INDUSTRIAL  CONDITIONS— FOREIGN  POPULATION 

In  the  U.  S.  Census  for  1910,  about  three  per  cent,  of  San  Die- 
go's population  or  1071  were  classed  as  wage  earners-  This  was 
on  the  basis  of  a  total  population  of  over  39,000.  This  percentage 
is  a  little  below  the  average  for  eight  other  of  the  largest  cities 
of  California.  On  a  basis  of  80,000  population  the  city  at  present 
has  possiblv  a  working  population  of  12,000.  This  includes,  in 
addition  to"^those  classed  distinctly  as  wage  earners,  all  workers 
in  the  building  trades,  mercantile  establishments,  on  street  cars, 
etc.  .Organized  labor  claims  a  total  of  5,000  union  men.  This  is 
probably  too  high  a  figure  at  the  present  time  of  industrial  de- 
pression. The  State  Bureau  of  Labor  for  1911-1912  gives  3,702 
emplovees  in  a  total  of  187  manufacturing,  wholesale  and  retail 
establishments  of  the  city.  This  number  is  exclusive  for  the 
most  part  of  workers  in  the  building  trades.  Of  this  total  29 
per  cent  were  women.  The  following  establishments  employed  a 
total  of  over  150  persons,  as  follows:  Lumber  and  milling,  269; 
restaurants,  329 ;  slaughtering  and  meat  packing,  209 ;  clothing, 
retail,  349 ;  department  stores,  216 ;  laundries,  316. 

Hours  of  Work  and  Wages  of  Males 

Of  the  above  total  working  population,  29  per  cent,  worked 
eight  hours  or  less,  46  per  cent,  worked  nine  hours,  24  per  cent, 
worked  ten  hours.  About  15  per  cent,  received  $12.00  or  under 
per  week.  The  remainder  received  over  $12.00  per  week.  Rates 
for  organized  labor  were  quoted  as  follows  in  the  State  Bureau 
of  Labor  report:  Carpenters,  50  cents  an  hour  for  forty-four 
hour  week;  compositors,  job  and  newspaper,  $4.00  to  $5.00  for 
an  eight  hour  dav ;  bakers  and  confectioners,  $18.00  to  $25.00  for 
a  fifty-six  hour  week ;  bartenders,  $20.00  to  $25.00  for  a  sixty 
hour  week;  barbers,  average  $16.00  for  a  sixty-seven  hour  week. 
From  other  sources  it  was  learned  that  the  contractor's  price  for 
unskilled  labor  is  at  present  a  minimum  of  $2.00  for  a  nine  hour 
day. 

Women   and   Girl    Employees 

According  to  the  State  Bureau  of  Labor  report,  1076  women 
were  emploved  in  manufacturing,  wholesale  and  retail  estab- 
lishments. Establishments  employing  over  85  women  and  girls 
have  the  following  number  of  employees:  Clothing,  retail,  166; 
department  stores,  148;  restaurants,  86;  laundries,  204.  Wo- 
men and  girls  are  employed  in  seasonal  industries  at  fish  packing 
and  in  olive  works.  Under  the  state  law  women  and  girls  are 
given  an  eight  hour  day.  If  we  assume  $9.00  as  the  lowest  liv- 
ing wage  to  be  paid  for  women  and  girl  employees  oh  the  rather 
incomplete  figures  given  later  in  this  investigation,  and  taken  as 
the  basis  of  the  minimum  cost  of  living,  we  find  from  the  State 
Bureau  of  Labor  report  that  50  per  cent,  received  $9.00  or  over. 
This  is  less  than  the  percentage  for  the  entire  state,  which  is  60 

31 


per  cent.  Forty-one  per  cent,  received  $6.00  to  $9.00,  8  per  cent, 
received  less  than  $6.00.  The  percentage  of  those  earn- 
ing under  $9.00  runs  as  follows,  in  the  principal  establishments 
already  given :  Laundries,  66  per  cent. ;  clothing,  retail,  20  per 
cent. ;  department  stores,  64  per  cent. ;  restaurants,  61  per  cent. ; 
confectionery,  65  per  cent.  In  other  words,  over  60  per  cent,  of 
the  women  and  girl  employees  of  the  respective  totals  for  laun- 
dries, department  stores,  restaurants  and  confectionery  estab- 
lishments received  less  than  $9.00  per  week. 

From  the  Woman  and  Child  Labor  Exhibit  made  in  the  city  in 
August,  1912,  the  following  figures  are  given  regarding  cost  of 
living,  per  week,  for  working  women  in  San  Diego:  Room  rent 
$2 ;  meals  60  cents  a  day,  $4.20 ;  total  $6.20.  Additional  items  are 
Expense  for  clothing,  laundry,  recreation,  sickness,  and  inciden- 
tals. According  to  this  exhibit,  90  out  of  163  working  women 
and  girls  reported  were  wholly  dependent  on  wages.  At  Unity 
House,  an  unsectarian  home  for  working  women  and  girls,  from 
8  to  16  girls  are  accommodated  for  $3.50  a  week,  board  and  room. 
For  from  $3.50  to  $5.00  a  week  the  King's  Daughters'  Home,  the 
same  class  of  institution,  accommodates  20  girls.  The  Y.  W.  C. 
A.  also  has  accommodations  for  working  girls.  The  above  figures 
taken  from  the  State  Bureau  of  Labor  report  and  the  Woman  and 
Child  Labor  Exhibit,  illustrate  farily  accurately,  it  is  believed, 
present  conditions.  This  is  borne  out  by  the  testimony  of  well- 
informed  persons  interviewed  at  the  present  time.  From  the 
limited  data  at  hand,  nine  dollars  is  apparently  the  lowest  living 
wage  for  working  girls  in  this  city. 

Child  Labor 

From  the  State  Bureau  of  Labor  report  of  1911-12,  171 
minors  under  18  years  of  age  were  at  work  in  manufacturing, 
wholesale  and  retail  establishments.  Working  permits  may  now 
be  issued  by  school  authorities  to  minors  between  the  ages  of  12 
and  15,  under  certain  conditions.  While  it  is  understood  to  be 
the  policy  of  the  school  authorities  to  issue  such  permits  in  but 
few  cases,  the  law  as  it  stands  does  not  come  up  to  the  standard 
set  by  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee  for  the  whole  coun- 
try. This  standard  excludes  children  under  14  years  from  "ordi- 
nary gainful  occupations."  It  is  estimated  that  there  are  400 
newsboys  in  San  Diego,  but  there  is  no  state  law  regulating  street 
trades  other  than  that  boys  shall  not  be  at  work  between  10:00 
p.  m.  and  5:00  a.  m.  The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  rec- 
ommends that  boys  under  16  shall  not  be  permitted  to  work  at 
street  trades  between  8:00  p.  m.  and  6:00  a.  m.  Messenger  boys 
number  about  25.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority  that  "they  are 
acquainted  with  almost  every  apartment  that  is  questionable  in 
San  Diego."  According  to  the  state  law,  no  minors  are  to  be  sent 
as  messengers  to  houses  of  prostitution,  or  other  questionable  re- 
sorts. The  small  private  messenger  companies  are  said  to  offend 
in  this  regard  rather  than  the  well  established  companies. 

To  summarize  industrial  conditions  in  San  Diego,  especially  as 
they  relate  to  state  laws,  established  for  the  protection  of  work- 

32 


ing  men,  women  and  children,  we  find  the  following:  Women 
workers  are  protected  by  a  law  limiting  their  workmg  hours  to 
eight  per  day ;  a  Workmen's  Compensation  law ;  men  and  women 
workers  are  protected  by  law  against  fraud  at  the  hands  of  pri- 
vate employment  agencies,  (a  movement  is  now  on  foot  to  estab- 
lish a  free  municipal  employment  agency)  ;  the  work  of  mmors 
under  18  is  limited  to  eight  hours  per  day;  minors  under  16  are 
not  permitted  to  work  between  10 :00  p.  m.  and  5 :00  a.  m.  Much 
better  results  have  been  obtained  in  the  enforcement  of  these 
laws  since  the  recent  opening  of  a  branch  office  of  the  State  Bur- 
eau of  Labor  in  the  city,  and  the  appointment  of  a  special  agent 
to  cover  San  Diego  and  neighboring  territory.  The  state  mini- 
mum wage  commission  is  now  at  work  making  an  investigation 
whch,  it  is  hoped,  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  establishing  a  mini- 
mum wage  for  women  workers. 

Needs  of  the  community  to  be  relieved  further  by  state  legisla- 
tion may  be  summarized  as  follows :  There  are  no  adequate  state 
factory  inspection  laws ;  minors  under  14  should  not  be  granted 
working  permits ;  street  trades  should  be  regulated ;  minors  un- 
der 16  should  not  be  allowed  to  work  between  the  hours  of  8:00 
p.  m.  and  6:00  a.  m. ;  newsboys  should  be  issued  badges.  Further 
legislation  or  a  more  strict  enforcement  of  existing  laws  is  need- 
ed to  check  the  apparently  extensive  operations  of  loan  sharks, 
or  money  lenders,  at  exhorbitant  rates  of  interest,  fattening  on 
the  needs  of  the  small  salaried  man  or  the  working  man  and  de- 
manding from  100  to  over  200  per  cent,  interest  as  a  yearly  rate. 
The  legal  rate  of  interest  in  California  is  24  per  cent.  A  Provi- 
dent Loan  Association,  or  similar  institutions  such  as  operate  m 
Eastern  cities,  should  be  established  to  meet  the  real  needs  of 
small  borrowers. 

Foreign  Population 

Of  the  city's  population,  according  to  the  United  States  Census 
of  1910,  18  per  cent,  were  foreign  born  whites,  21  per  cent,  of 
foreign  or  mixed  parentage,  57  per  cent,  of  native  parentage.  Of 
California's  seven  largest  cities,  San  Diego  has,  next  to  Pasa- 
dena, the  largest  native  population  and  the  lowest  percentage  of 
persons  of  foreign  or  mixed  parentage  and  of  foreign  born  whites. 
Of  the  foreign  born  population  in  1910  about  4000  were  Northern 
Europeans.  Other  foreign  born  were:  Mexicans  1222,  Italians 
331,  Austrians  182,  Greeks  68,  Chinese  and  Japanese  a  total 
of  507.  Unless  there  is  a  considerable  development  of  the 
others  516.  Unless  there  is  a  considerable  development  of  the 
present  limited  industrial  opportunities  in  the  community,  the 
city  cannot  well  become  an  important  point  for  the  landing  of  im- 
migrants on  the  coast.  However,  a  development  of  the  back 
country  about  San  Diego,  and  the  establishment  of  railroad  con- 
nections with  Imperial  Valley  and  Southern  Arizona,  the  latter 
already  a  definite  undertaking,  may  make  San  Diego  an  immi- 
grant station  of  importance.  On  the  present  basis  of  prices  for 
land  in  this  part  of  the  state,  only  immigrants  with  considerable 
savings  could  be  attracted  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  mde- 

33 


pendent  holdings.  A  government  immigrant  receiving  station 
will  be  located  on  the  city's  new  municipal  pier.  It  is  suggested 
that  a  trained  nurse  be  appointed  by  the  immigration  authori- 
tes,  to  care  for  immigrants  detained  for  medical  inspection,  es- 
pecially women.  If  this  were  done,  serious  evils  now  found  at 
some  of  the  older  immigrant  stations  could  be  avoided  at  the 
start.  A  private  home  for  immigrant  women  and  girls  has  been 
opened  recently,  to  meet  future  needs. 

Mexicans 

The  Mexicans  both  foreign  and  native-born  number  at  present 
from  three  to  four  thousand.  About  them  center  the  most  defi- 
nite problems  in  the  social  life  of  the  community,  such  as  over- 
crowding and  unsanitary  home  conditions.  These  problems  are 
focused  about  this  nationality  not  only  by  reason  of  their  num- 
ber, but  because  a  considerable  proportion  are  a  stable  element 
in  the  community,  centered  about  family  groups.  About  one- 
quarter  are  located  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rose  Park  playground 
in  the  southeastern  section  of  the  city — the  district  where  crowd- 
ing in  cottages,  shacks  and  tenements  is  at  its  worst.  Others  are 
scattered  along  the  water  front  and  the  more  prosperous  may  be 
found  in  different  sections  of  the  city.  It  is  said  that  there  are 
but  few  Mexicans  in  the  skilled  trades  as  carpenters,  masons,  etc. 
For  the  most  part  they  work  with  pick  and  shovel  for  the  gas 
company,  street  railway,  and  on  water  works,  or  for  general  con- 
tractors at  a  minimum  wage  of  $2.00  a  day.  Other  Mexicans  are 
employed  as  teamsters.  Mexican  boys  who  are  educated  in  the 
city  schools,  as  a  rule  do  not  obtain  employment  in  mercantile 
establishments.  Mexican  girls  are  found  in  the  laundries,  cracker 
factories,  olive  works,  and  fish  canning  industry.  As  a  class,  the 
Mexicans  in  San  Diego  are  said  to  offer  more  promising  material 
from  which  to  develop  good  citizens  than  those  of  the  same  na- 
tionality who  enter  the  country  through  El  Paso,  Texas,  a  prin- 
cipal immigration  point.  At  present  two  small  Protestant  Mis- 
sions are  working  among  the  Mexicans,  the  Baptist  and  Presby- 
terian. The  main  social  agency,  however,  which  reaches  them 
upon  a  community  basis,  outside  of  the  public  schools,  and  the 
Catholic  Church,  is  the  Rose  Park  playground.  With  a  small  day 
wage  restricted  for  the  most  part  to  intermittent  manual  labor, 
with  the  large  families  and  low  standards  of  living  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, it  becomes  the  special  duty  of  the  city's  social  agencies  to 
afford  all  possible  opportunities  for  development  for  this  nation- 
ality and  especially  for  the  children,  on  a  basis  of  proper  Ameri- 
can standards.  An  important  agency  for  accomplishing  this 
purpose  might  well  be  a  Social  Settlement  established  possibly  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Rose  Park  playground.  Such  a  settle- 
ment could  interpret  the  needs  of  this  section  to  the  community 
as  a  whole,  and  join  as  well  in  a  movement  shaping  itself  toward 
a  definite  social  program  for  the  city. 


34 


Causes 


OF    DEPBNDEmY 
As  SHOWN  BY  TWO  YEAFS  BSCOWS  OF 

Associated  ^ — r— ^    Chaeit/es 


MAHY  OF  THESE  CAUSES  AFE  E'ENOmiE 
jyFOUOH  COOPEFATim  EFFO^r 


35 


BETTERMENT  AGENCIES 

The  question  has  been  asked  by  persons  otherwise  intelligently 
Informed,  "Are  there  any  poor  in  San  Diego  ?"  Visit  the  homes 
of  the  poor  in  the  more  crowded  sections  of  the  city  or  read  the 
stories  of  distress  resulting  from  sickness  and  unemployment 
which  are  on  file  at  the  Associated  Charities.  The  answer  must 
be  decidedly  in  the  affirmative.  Various  agencies  and  institu- 
tions are  at  work  in  San  Diego  to  help  in  relieving  such  distress. 
A  list  of  agencies  has  been  prepared  and  will  be  found  at  the  end 
of  this  report.  No  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  following  state- 
ment to  give  an  account  of  the  work  of  even  the  more  prominent 
charitable  agencies  in  the  city.  Those  mentioned  serve  rather  as 
guiding  points  in  outlining  the  city's  charitable  growth  and 
needs. 

A  brief  review  of  the  charity  situation  in  San  Diego  brings  to 
light  the  following  facts.    The  city's  poor,  now  receiving  indoor 
relief  from  the  county,  are  provided  for  at  the  County  Hospital. 
This  situation  should  be  remedied  at  once  by  housing  the  poor  in 
separate  quarters.    The  county  supervisors  "^f or  the  citv,  three  in 
number,  are  the  main  agency  dispensing  material  relief  to  the 
poor  in  their  homes.     This  relief  is  usually  in  the  form  of  gro- 
ceries.   In  supplies,  alone,  $13,000  was  given  during  the  last  fiscal 
year  of  the  Board,  the  larger  share  of  this  amount  going  to  resi- 
dents of  the  city  rather  than  of  the  county.    This  public  money 
the  Board  spent  in  the  press  of  other  duties,  without  adequate 
means  for  investigating  the  circumstances  of  families  or  individ- 
uals receiving  aid.    Nor  were  they  able  to  do  constructive  work 
in  upbuilding  the  individuals  or  families  assisted,  by  established 
methods  of  organized  charity.     The  Supervisors,  however,  have 
taken  a  step  in  the  right  direction  by  instituting  a  card  catalog 
record  of  persons  receiving  relief  in  their  homes.     One  Supervi- 
sor at  present  refers  cases  for  relief  to  the  Associated  Charities 
for  investigation.    This  is  but  a  step  in  the  right  direction.    The 
Supervisors  should  appoint  a  trained  investigator  to  investigate 
the  circumstances  of  families  assisted  and  aid  as  far  as  possible 
in  a  constructive  effort  to  place  the  family  upon  a  self-supporting 
basis.     This  is  the  method  followed  by  San  Francisco's  Countv 
Supervisors.     The  services  of  such  an  investigator  could  be  se- 
cured probably  without  actual  increase  in  the  total  amount  now 
spent  in  relief.    Moreover,  the  county  board's  investigator  could 
assist  physicians  at  the  County  Hospital  by  weeding  out  cases 
which  do  not  call  for  hospital  treatment  or  for  which  other  and 
better  arrangements  could  be  provided  in  the  home.    This  service 
the  Associated  Charities  now  gives,  to  a  considerable  extent,  and 
whenever  called  upon.    In  San  Francisco,  where  the  county  em- 
ploys an  investigator  for  all  such  work,  the  communitv  has  bene- 


fited  by  improved  service  to  those  assisted,  in  time  saved  to  coun- 
ty officials  and,  according  to  the  report  of  the  county  officials,  hy 
an  actual  saving  of  funds. 

San  Diego  has  a  number  of  small  private  agencies  which  give 
occasional  relief  to  the  poor,  such  as  the  Ladies'  Hebrew  Aid  So- 
ciety, the  St.  Vincent  De  Paul  Society,  both  types  of  well  known 
organizations  of  other  cities,  the  various  missions,  churches,  and 
benevolent  and  fraternal  organizations.  A  thorough  investiga- 
tion of  the  results  accomplished  by  these  agencies  would  show 
probably  that  they  are  working  at  cross-purposes  with  one  an- 
other, and  with  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors.  Such  at  least 
has  been  the  condition  of  affairs  in  other  cities  farther  advanced 
than  San  Diego  in  methods  of  relief  giving.  An  Associated  Char- 
ities in  any  city  is  organized  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  this 
lack  of  system,  or  possible  overlapping  of  charitable  efforts  in 
aiding  the  poor.  A  main  purpose  of  this  Society  is  to  act  as  a 
clearing  house  among  the  community's  different  charicaoie 
agencies,  giving  out  information  regarding  individuals  or  fam- 
ilies aided.  Moreover,  it  opposes  relief  giving  in  the  form  of 
doles  merely,  and  instead  makes  a  constructive  effort  to  place  the 
individual  or  family  back  upon  a  self-supporting  basis.  This  it 
endeavors  to  do  not  only  by  relief  giving  but  by  the  continued 
personal  service  of  its  workers  based  upon  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  family's  needs  and  resources.  A  third  function  of  an  As- 
sociated Charities  is  the  studying  of  conditions  in  a  community 
which  cause  poverty  and  distress  and  as  far  as  possible,  the  rem- 
edying of  such  conditions  through  a  definite  social  program. 

What  has  the  Associated  Charities  of  San  Diego  accomplished,, 
if  we  measure  its  activities  according  to  the  standards  set  by 
similar  associations  in  other  cities?  Although  it  employs  a  wo- 
man worker,  well  trained  in  methods  of  organized  charity,  the 
society  has  been  badly  handicapped  for  lack  of  funds.  On  tv/a 
occasions,  it  has  not'  been  able  to  publish  a  yearly  report  for  lack 
of  money.  At  times  the  society  has  been  behind  in  the  payment 
of  salaries  to  its  woman  worker,  her  temporary  assistant,  and  the 
small  office  force.  Apparently,  the  community  has  failed  to 
grasp  properly  the  main  principles  upon  which  the  work  of  an 
Associated  Charities  is  based,  and  has  responded  but  slowly  in 
giving  it  adequate  financial  and  moral  support.  Credit  is  due,, 
however,  for  what  the  Society  has  accomplished  under  such  ad- 
verse conditions.  To  illustrate,  it  acts  as  a  clearing  house  in  giv- 
ing to  the  smaller  private  relief -giving  agencies,  information  re- 
garding needy  families,  and  stands  ready  to  co-operate  more  fully 
in  an  exchange  of  such  information.  It  regularly  investigates 
cases  for  relief  referred  to  it  by  one  of  the  County  Supervisors. 
It  investigates  the  circumstances  of  individuals  requesting  ad- 
mittance at  the  County  Hospital.  The  Society's  own  fund  for  re- 
lief giving  has  been  of  necessity  small.  However,  it  has  expended 
a  total  of  $350.00  given  on  two  occasions  by  the  city  council  for 
the  relief  of  the  unemployed.  It  has  handled  the  relief  funds  of 
certain  fraternal  organizations  on  special  occasions,  and  it  dis- 

37 


tributes  shoes  and  clothing  given  regularly  by  the  school  chil- 
dren at  Thanksgiving  time.  As  for  the  Society's  remaining  func- 
tion of  investigating  the  causes  of  poverty,  and  working  toward 
their  removal,  facts  have  been  obtained  in  records  of  families  re- 
lieved, but  no  program  has  been  outlined  for  the  removal  of  these 
causes. 

The  Children's  Home,  a  private  institution,  accommodating 
about  ICO  children,  is  excellent  both  in  equipment  and  manage- 
ment. It  is  a  pleasure  to  visit  such  an  institution  where  the  chil- 
dren escape  the  ordinary  institutional  stamp  and  are  afforded 
some  near  substitute  for  home  life.  In  spite  of  the  good  work 
done  by  such  an  institution,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  a  child 
placed  in  a  private  family  under  proper  conditions  and  with  the 
necessary  supervision,  is  better  off  than  in  an  institution  however 
home-like.  Unless  the  co-operation  of  private  child-placing  so- 
cieties now  operating  in  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  can  be 
secured  in  San  Diego,  the  city's  charitable  agencies  themselves 
must  face  the  problem.  In  order  to  meet  the  question  squarely 
as  to  the  superior  value  of  child  placing  in  private  homes  over  in- 
stitutional care,  a  careful  investigation  should  be  made  of  the 
circumstances  of  children  now  in  the  city's  institutions — espec- 
ially of  those  children  supported  by  state  and  county  funds.  Such 
an  investigation  would  cover  the  Children's  Home,  the  Helping 
Hand  Home,  the  County  Detention  Home  and  any  other  private 
homes  in  the  city  where  children  are  regularly  kept  for  pay.  Sim- 
ilar investigations  in  other  communities  have  shown  what  is 
probably  true  of  San  Diego,  that  if  the  money  now  spent  in  giv- 
ing the  child  institutional  care  by  state  or  county  were  given  in 
certain  cases  to  the  mother  and  added  possibly  to  her  small  earn- 
ings, the  child  would  be  better  off  with  the  mother  than  in  an  in- 
stitution as  a  public  charge.  Such  a  readjustment  might  even 
lead  to  an  actual  saving  of  money  for  the  tax-payer  and  with  bet- 
ter results  secured  for  the  child.  This  investigation  into  the  in- 
stitutional care  of  children  should  discover  also  how  far  the  state 
and  county  aid  now  given  for  the  support  of  children  in  institu- 
tions and  in  their  own  homes  as  well,  is  adequate  according  to 
approved  standards  of  relief  giving.  While  the  County  Supervi- 
sors in  San  Diego  give  v;illingly  to  institutions  for  the  support  of 
children,  these  officials,  we  are  informed,  are  not  accustomed  to 
the  idea  of  giving  relief  to  the  mother  or  responsible  relative  suf- 
ficient to  provide  comfortably  for  the  child  outside  of  an  institu- 
tion. There  is  no  public  central  registration  of  all  dependent  chil- 
dren in  San  Diego.  The  Juvenile  Court  offers  machinery  for  such 
registration  and  should  do  this  work. 

Before  the  whole  problem  of  relief  giving  and  of  charitable  as- 
sistance to  families  in  their  homes  can  be  solved  in  a  measure,  by 
local  charitable  societies,  both  state  and  county  must  provide  ir.- 
creased  accommodations  in  institutions  for  the  tuberculous,  in- 
ebriates, insane  and  feeble-minded. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  the  Helping  Hand  Home,  a  small 
private  institution  for  men,  women  and  children,  conducted  to 

38 


some  extent  on  a  pay  basis.  It  is  supported  in  part  by  county 
funds  paid  for  children  kept  at  the  Home.  The  physical  care  of 
the  inmates  is  not  up  to  the  best  practical  standards.  For  ex- 
ample, sleeping  accommodations  are  provided  for  ten  persons  in 
the  basement  of  this  Home  under  conditions  which  are  contrary 
to  ordinary  standards  of  cleanliness  and  sanitation. 

San  Diego  is  making  an  attempt  to  aid  unemployed  men,  with 
profit  to  the  community,  through  an  enterprise  probably  unique 
among  American  cities.  The  city  maintains  a  camp  on  its  exten- 
sive pueblo  lands  throughout  the  year  where  from  20  to  25  men 
are  accommodated  for  ten  days  each.  The  men  work  at  tree 
planting  and  land  clearing,  and  receive  50  cents  a  day,  board  and 
lodging  for  their  services. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  present  charitable  needs  of 
the  city :  Separate  quarters  should  be  provided  for  the  indigent 
poor  now  kept  at  the  County  Hospital ;  adequate  support  should 
be  given  by  the  community  to  the  work  of  the  Associated  Chari- 
ties; a  trained  investigator  should  be  employed  by  the  County 
Board  of  Supervisors;  an  investigation  should  be  made  of  the 
need  for  care  of  dependent  children  in  families  rather  than  in  in- 
stitutions. 


39 


CIVIC  IMPROVEMENT 

The  physical  arrangement  and  appearance  of  the  citj'-  mar)c 
the  confines  of  this  subject.     San  Diego  ah^eady  has  a  vakiable 


Vacant  Lot  Cultivation. 


^'^v^:*^*K  .  I 


"Vacant  Lot  as  a  Dumping  Ground.     City's  Refuse  Disposal  Left  to  a  Private 

Contractor. 

•contribution  in  John  Nolan's  report  on  city  planning.     Citizens, 
however,  as  a  whole,  have  so  far  failed  to  recognize  the  value  of 


40 


this  report,  and  have  been  content  to  drift  or  accept  something- 
much  inferior  to  its  suggestions.  The  pueblo  lands  of  the  city,  a 
heritage  from  Mexican  land  grants,  offer  the  community  a  most 
unique  opportunity  in  shaping  its  physical  development.  These 
lands  cover  some  6400  acres  to  the  north  of  the  city,  but  within 
the  citv  limits,  and  are  scattered  in  small  sections  throughout 
the  residential  districts.  Only  a  portion  of  the  latter  are  accur- 
ately mapped  out.  Charts  should  be  prepared  at  once  so  that  the 
use  of  these  sections  could  be  developed  as  occasion  arises.  The 
chief  asset  of  the  city  at  present  under  development  is  Balboa 
Park,  comprising  1400  acres  and  the  site  of  the  Panama  Exposi- 
tion buildings.  The  failure  to  provide  a  general  plan  for  the  im- 
provement of  Balboa  Park  which  will  meet  the  city's  require- 
ments as  to  traffic  as  well  as  for  park  purposes  is  inexcusable. 
The  park  lies  in  a  line  between  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  upper 
mass  of  the  residential  section,  and  the  center  of  retail  merchan- 
dise and  wholesale  and  lumber  distributing  centers.  The  park  is 
still  the  football  of  immediate  needs  and  pohcies.  The  present 
method  of  control  of  new  additions  is  inadequate,  comparatively 
ineffectual  and  expensive  in  result.  Hope  for  better  things  ha& 
come  with  the  conception  of  the  Exposition.  A  unanimity  of  pur- 
pose and  recognition  of  the  necessity  for  a  "city  beautiful"  has 
begun  to  develop.  The  value  of  city  planning  and  its  influence  on 
general  appearances  will  be  appreciated  more  fully  after  the  Ex- 
position. After  the  Chicago  World's  Fair,  that  city  recognized 
this  more  fully  and  great  projects  were  made  possible  owing  to 
the  education  of  the  people  by  the  Exposition.  Two  public 
squares,  located  in  the  down-town  section,  add  to  the  city's  at- 
tractiveness. The  now  undeveloped  city  tide  lands  offer  a  splen- 
did opportunity  for  beautifying  the  water  front  and  reserving  it 
to  some  extent  at  least  for  recreational  purposes.  Such  an  oppor- 
tunity other  cities  have  thrown  away  recklessly  by  surrendering 
unconditionally  to  commercial  interests.  In  the  city's  future 
commercial  development,  it  should  conserve  and  add  to  its  beauty 
as  a  natural  playground  spot  of  the  country.  The  bill  board  evil 
is  evident  in  the  city.  Unsightly  bill  boards  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  detract  from  the  general  appearance  of  broad  streets^ 
now  a  most  attractive  feature.  The  natural  beauty  of  the  can- 
vons  should  be  preserved  by  preventing  their  use  as  dumpings 
grounds  for  refuse.  San  Diego  is  fortunate  in  having  historic 
spots  of  interest,  with  its  mission  ruins  and  associations  connect- 
ed with  Ramona's  marriage  place  at  Old  Town.  These  must  even- 
tually become  the  heritage  of  the  city. 


41 


TAXATION  AND  PUBLIC  FINANCE 

Any  community  should  know  whether  its  local  government  is 
conducted  efficiently  and  economically ;  whether  citizens  are  pay- 
ing their  share  of  taxes  according  to  benefits  received ;  and  what 
per  cent,  of  each  dollar  expended  goes  to  the  various  public  de- 
partments. A  simple  accounting  system  is  necessary  and  a  bud- 
get making  with  opportunities  provided  for  public  discussion. 
Those  citizens  who  are  specially  interested  in  an  extension  of 
public  service,  as  in  increased  activities  of  the  Board  of  Health, 
should  have  this  information.  The  city  has  an  opportunity  at 
present  in  the  preparation  of  its  new  charter  to  provide  for 
greater  publicity  in  its  municipal  finances. 

The  present  city  government  is  described  as  a  "mongrel"  com- 
mission form  of  government.  Five  councilmen  are  elected  at 
large.  The  Mayor  and  City  Treasurer  are  also  elected.  Ordi- 
nance-making and  the  executive  power  are  both  vested  in  the 
City  Council,  each  member  of  which  has  charge  of  one  or  more 
of  the  city  departments.     Three  councilmen  may  act  over  the 

CoMFAFAm^  Cost  or  C/rr 

DfPMTMf//T6 


Statisvcs    fof    I9J2 


42 


mayor's  veto.  The  present  charter  is  compHcated  and  difficult 
for  the  ordinary  citizen  to  understand.  The  power  of  recall  is 
uncertain  under  the  charter  and  has  not  been  tested.  At  the 
head  of  the  county  administration  are  five  supervisors  elected  at 
large.  Neither  the  city  nor  county  have  civil  service  regulations. 
Records  of  transaction  of  the  Council  are  not  indexed.  Depart- 
ment reports  are  not  usually  published,  although  the  finance  de- 
partment publishes  a  report.  Some  departments  have  no  fire- 
proof safes  for  records  in  the  city  hall. 

Taxation 

It  may  be  stated  as  a  general  principle  that  if  a  government 
is  conducted  efficiently  and  economically,  any  tax  rate  which 
meets  the  community  needs  is  justifiable.  The  tax  rate  for  the 
city  for  1913  was  $1.90,  and  for  the  county  within  the  city  lim- 
its, $1.45,  making  for  1913  a  total  tax  rate  within  the  city  and 
for  city  and  county  purposes,  of  $3.35,  on  an  assessed  valuation 
of  $100.00.  There  is  no  established  standard  for  the  assessment 
of  real  or  personal  property  in  city  or  county.  The  state  law  pro- 
vides that  all  property  shall  be  assessed  at  its  full  cash  value.  The 
law  defines  full  cash  value,  but  in  practice,  the  matter  is  left  to 
the  discretion  of  the  assessor  and  his  assistants.  In  a  general 
way,  the  1913  assessment  was  based  on  one-third  of  the  fair  mar- 
ket price,  for  the  city,  and  one-half  for  the  county,  as  to  real 
property.  The  result  of  the  low  assessment  was  a  high  tax  rate. 
The  expressed  purpose  of  the  new  city  assessor  is  to  assess  prop- 
erty (realty)  in  accordance  with  the  law,  i.  e.,  at  its  full  cash 
value.  The  cash  value  is  far  below  the  speculative  or  market 
price  prevailing  in  San  Diego.  This  is  characteristic  of  all  rapid- 
ly growing  western  cities.  Realty  values  are  not  yet  on  a  set- 
tled income  basis  as  in  the  older  eastern  cities.  The  increased  as- 
sessment for  1914  will  lower  materially  the  tax  rate,  and  will  be 
more  satisfactory  to  every  one  excepting  the  speculator. 

Revenues   and    Expenditures 

The  auditor's  report  for  the  year  1913  will  be  ready  for  deliv- 
ery in  April  of  this  year.  The  total  receipts  for  the  city  from 
all  sources,  including  bond  sales,  were  over  $6,000,000.00,  and  the 
total  expenditure  over  $5,000,000.00.  The  total  assessed  value  of 
real  property  for  1913  was  over  $55,000,000.00  and  of  personal 
property  over  $5,000,000.00.  The  receipts  from  taxation,  fees 
and  licenses  are  sufficient  to  meet  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the 
city.  Improvements  of  a  permanent  character  such  as  buildings, 
docks,  sewers,  park  and  water  improvements,  bridges,  etc.,  are 
met  by  bond  issue.  The  present  bonding  limit  has  been  reached 
within  about  $200,000.00,  but  will  be  greatly  increased  after  the 
1914  assessment  roll  is  completed.  The  city  budget  is  approved 
by  the  council  after  estimates  of  the  heads  of  the  various  depart- 
ments have  been  submitted  to -the  auditor.  According  to  the 
present  auditor,  the  1914  budget  which  is  under  preparation,  will 
be  presented  for  public  criticism,  and  discussion  before  adoption. 

Recommendations — There  should  be  a  uniform  system  of  ac- 

43 


counting  for  the  city.  The  pre-audit  system  of  accounting  now- 
used  by  the  state  administration  should  be  adopted  by  the  city. 
Fees,  licenses,  etc.,  should  be  paid  to  the  City  Treasurer  and  not 
to  inspectors  in  the  different  departments.  The  city  should  com- 
bine the  office  of  assessor  with  the  corresponding  county  office, 
and  equip  the  department  with  a  complete  set  of  plats,  showing 
the  character  of  each  parcel  of  land  in  the  county.  Tax  collec-* 
tions  should  be  made  by  one  officer  for  city  and  county.  The  city 
auditor  should  not  be  the  assessor,  as  his  time  is  sufficiently  oc- 
cupied in  looking  after  the  city's  accounts.  One  treasurer  for 
<;ity  and  county  is  sufficient.  For  the  assessment  of  property, 
the  Somers  system  should  be  adopted  so  that  there  may  be  an 
-equitable  valuation  of  property. 


44 


LIST  OF  CHARITABLE  AND  SEMI-CHARITABLE  AGENCIES 

Relief -Giving  Agencies 

Public 

Board  of  Supervisors — Location,  County  Court  House.  Super- 
visors for  the  city:  J.  P.  Smith,  Chas.  Swallow,  T.  J.  Fisher. 
Secretary,  Miss  Allen. 

Private 

Associated  Charities — Location,  Eighth  and  B  streets.  Under 
auspices  of  Board  of  Directors.  Registrar,  Miss  Mary  Dietzler. 
Telephone,  Sunset  Main  3940,  Home  4786.  Purpose,  co-operation 
with  other  agencies  in  assisting  needy  families. 

Ladies'  Hebrew  Aid  Society — Under  auspices  of  Board  of  Di- 
rectors. President,  Mrs.  L.  A.  Blochman.  Purpose,  to  aid  needy 
Hebrew  families  in  co-operation  with  Associated  Charities. 

Hebrew  Sisterhood — President  Mrs.  Rebecca  Cohn,  620  Eight- 
eenth street.  Purpose,  to  aid  needy  Hebrew  families,  in  co-oper- 
ation with  Associated  Charities. 

St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society — Under  auspices  of  Catholic 
Church.    Manager,  Mr.  Martin,  Our  Lady  of  Angels  Parish. 

B'nai-Brith — Under  auspices  of  Hebrew  men.  President,  Mr. 
S.  I.  Fox.    Purpose,  relief  for  Hebrew  men. 

British  Benevolent  Society — President,  Allen  Hutchinson,  1733 
First  street.  Secretary,  W.  G.  Daniels.  Women's  Auxiliary, 
British  Benevolent  Aid  Club ;  President,  Miss  Eleanor  Partridge. 
Purpose,  to  render  aid  to  British  subjects. 

Lodges — Masons,  Elks,  Shriners,  etc.  Purpose,  relief  for 
needy,  particularly  among  own  members.  Outside  work  in  co- 
operation with  Associated  Charities. 

Missions — Give  material  relief  together  with  religious  work. 
(See  Missions.) 

Needlework  Guild — Under  auspices  of  national  organization. 
President,  Mrs.  M.  L.  Slocum.  Purpose,  supplying  new  clothing 
to  needy. 

Institutions  for  Children 

Public 

Detention  Home,  Mission  Valley.  Under  auspices  of  County 
Board  of  Supervisors.  Home  for  juvenile  delinquents  and  de- 
pendents. 

Private 

Children's  Home — Sixteenth  and  Ash  streets.  Under  auspices 
of  Board  of  Directors.  President,  Mrs.  Thelan;  Secretary,  Mrs. 
Flynn;  Superintendent,  Mrs.  Miles.  Purpose,  home  and  nursery 
for  dependent  children  from  three  months  to  fourteen  years  of 
age.    On  both  free  and  pay  basis. 

45 


Helping  Hand  Nursery  and  Home — Location,  2245  G  street. 
Superintendent,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Dodson ;  Matron,  Mrs.  Price.  Charges, 
free  or  whatever  able  to  pay.  Purpose,  home  and  day  nursery 
for  children  of  all  ages  and  home  for  working  mothers. 

Mothers'  Home  Association — In  process  of  being  established. 

Institutions  for  Adults 

Private 

Frederika  Home  for  Aged — Location,  Chula  Vista.  Under  aus- 
pices of  Board  of  Directors.  Matron,  Mrs.  Emma  Saylor.  Pay 
institution.    Purpose,  home  for  aged. 

Pisgah  Home  for  Men — Location,  National  City.  Superintend- 
ent, Mr.  Green.    Purpose,  religious  home  for  needy  men. 

Helping  Hand  Home — Location,  Fifteenth  and  J  streets. 
Superintendent,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Dodson;  Secretary,  Mr.  Har- 
rison ;  Matron,  Mrs.  Halleck.  Charges,  on  both  free  and  pay  bas- 
is. Purpose,  home  for  men,  women  and  children;  to  render  aid 
to  unemployed,  and  to  give  home  to  those  earning  a  very  low 
wage. 

Hospitals  and  Dispensaries 

Public 

County  Hospital — Location,  University  Heights.  Under  aus- 
pices of  County  Board  of  Supervisors.  Director,  Dr.  L  D.  Web- 
ster; Superintendent,  W.  S.  Heller.  Charges,  free  and  pay.  Pur- 
pose, hospital  treatment  for  the  sick.    Home  for  indigents. 

Free  County  Dispensary — Location,  old  county  jail.  Under 
auspices  of  Board  of  Supervisors.  Director,  Dr.  Webster.  Pur- 
pose, to  give  free  medical  treatment  to  the  sick  unable  to  pay 
a  physician. 

Private 

Children's  Home  Hospital — Location,  Sixteenth  and  Ash 
streets.  Under  auspices  of  Children's  Home  Association. 
Charges,  free  and  pay  basis. 

Psychopathic  Home,  "Park  Knoll" — Location,  National  City. 
Manager,  Mrs.  Harriet  F.  Taylor.  Charges,  based  on  ability  to 
pay.  Purpose,  a  home,  rest  and  treatment  for  persons  tempor- 
arily mentally  deranged. 

Missions 

Salvation  Army — Location,  940  Third  street.  Under  auspices 
of  world  organization.  Officers:  Commander,  Adjutant  J.  F. 
Hamilton ;  Field  Worker,  Mrs.  Hamilton.  Purpose,  religious,  aid 
rendered  to  extremly  needy. 

Rescue  Mission — Non-sectarian.  Location,  Third  between  G 
and  H  streets.  Under  auspices  of  private  Board  of  Directors. 
Superintendent,  Tom  Nowell;  Ass't.  Superintendent,  Dr.  Bark- 
ley.  PuiTDOse,  religious,  meals  and  lodging  given  to  destitute 
men. 

46 


Chinese  Mission — Location,  645  First  street.  Under  auspices 
of  First  Congregational  Church.  Superintendent,  Mrs.  Margaret 
Fenton.  Purpose,  religious,  and  aid  to  Chinese  in  interpreting 
American  life. 

Japanese  Mission,  Congregational — Location,  527  Eighth 
street.    Same  nature  as  Chinese.    Minister,  Rev.  Fugi. 

Presbyterian  Mexican  Mission — Location  Thirteenth  and  K 
streets.  Under  auspices  of  First  Presbyterian  Church.  Super- 
intendent, M.  Ibanez.  Purpose,  religious,  and  assistance  render- 
ed in  interpreting  American  life  to  Mexicans. 

Baptist  Mexican  Mission — Location,  Columbia  and  Date  streets. 
Under  auspices  of  First  Baptist  Church.  Superintendent,  Mrs. 
Duggan.  Purpose,  religious,  teaching  classes,  and  relief  given  to 
Mexicans.    Attention  given  to  newly  arrived  immigrants. 

Peniel  Mission — Fifth  and  F  streets. 

Volunteers  of  America — Location,  532  Fourth  street-  Captain, 
M.  W.  Allender. 

Homes  for  Girls  and  Women 

Unity  House — Non-sectarian.  Location,  Front  and  Elm 
streets.  Under  auspices  of  Unitarian  Church,  and  Board  of  Di- 
rectors. President,  Rev.  H.  B.  Bard;  Matron,  Mrs.  Buchanan. 
Charges,  $3.50  per  week.  In  special  cases  girls  taken  free  for 
short  time  when  cannot  pay.  Purpose,  home  and  recreation  for 
w^orking  girls  receiving  small  wage. 

King's  Daughters'  Home — Non-sectarian.  Location,  1744 
First  street.  Under  auspices  of  Board  of  Directors.  President, 
Mrs.  M.  A.  Vincent;  Matron,  Miss  Hodge.  Charges,  $3.50  per 
week  and  up.  In  special  cases  girls  taken  when  they  cannot  pay. 
Purpose,  home  for  working  girls. 

Y.  W.  C.  A. — Location,  646  Broadway.  Auspices,  National 
Board  in  N.  Y.  and  local  Board  of  Directors.  President,  Mrs. 
Philip  Morse;  Matron,  Miss  Esther  Lacey.  Charges  for  rooms, 
$5.00  and  up  per  month.  Policy  is  to  care  for  needy  girls  tempor- 
arily, if  possible,  when  they  cannot  pay.  Purpose,  home  for  em- 
ployed girls. 

Immigrants'  Home — Location,  1152  Grand  avenue.  Under  aus- 
pices of  Home  Missionary  Society,  M.  E.  Church.  Matron,  Mrs. 
Allen.  Charges,  adapted  to  ability  of  individuals  to  pay.  Pur- 
pose, home  for  immigrant  girls  and  women.  Agent  to  meet  boats 
and  trains  to  assist  girls  and  women. 

Miscellaneous 

Door  of  Hope — Location,  East  San  Diego.  Auspices,  Board  of 
Directors.  President,  Mrs.  Dan  Armstrong.  Charges,  none. 
Purpose,  home  for  delinquent  girls. 

Society  for  the  Study  and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis — Branch 
national  association.  Location,  camp  on  edge  of  city.  Free  dis- 
pensary at  Eighth  and  B  streets.  Secretary,  Miss  A.  F.  Hutchin- 
son, office  of  Associated  Charities.    Purpose  and  character,  to  aid 

47 


in  the  cure  of  tubercular  persons,  and  the  prevention  of  the  di- 
sease. 

Y.  M.  C.  A. — Location,  Eighth  and  C  streets.  Under  auspices 
of  national  organization,  (Local  Board  of  Directors.)  Presi- 
dent, Mr.  George  W.  Marston;  general  secretary,  Mr.  Fred  D. 
Fagg.    Newsboys'  club,  no  dues.    Other  work  on  pay  basis. 

Y.  W.  C.  A. — Location,  646  Broadway.  Under  auspices  of  Na- 
tional Board  in  N.  Y.,  and  Local  Board.  President,  Mrs.  Philip 
Morse ;  General  Secretary,  Miss  Ellen  Cobb.  Travelers'  Aid,  free. 
Other  work  on  pay  basis. 

Employment  Agencies — 

(a)  Associated  Charities,  free. 

(b)  First  Baptist  Church,  free. 

(c)  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  pay.  Rates  $1.00  for  non-members,  75c 
for  members.    Free  to  employer. 

(d)  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  pay.  Rates  V2  of  first  week's  wages,  with 
concessions.     Fifty  cents  extra  for  non-members. 

(e)  Women's  Social  Service  Agency,  pay.  Rates,  5  per  cent 
of  salary  for  employee,  and  5  per  cent  for  employer,  depending 
on  length  of  service. 

Free  Industrial  School — Location,  National  avenue  and  Twen- 
ty-third street.  Under  auspices  of  Board  of  Directors.  Resi- 
dent Superintendent,  Mrs.  Barnes.  Purpose,  club  work  and  ev- 
ening classes  for  adults  and  boys  and  girls. 

Humane  Society — Location,  Chamber  of  Commerce.  Under 
auspices  of  Private  Board.  Helped  by  county  to  extent  of  $100 
per  month.  Secretary,  Mr.  Mutters.  Purpose,  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals  and  children. 

City  Farm — Location,  near  La  Jolla.  Under  auspices  of  City 
Council.  City  Forester,  Max  Watson,  in  charge.  Purpose,  de- 
velopment of  pueblo  lands,  and  incidentally  temporary  employ- 
ment for  men  unemployed. 

Playgrounds — 1.  Rose  Park,  Eleventh  and  I  streets.  2.  Gold- 
en Hill,  Balboa  Park.  3.  University  Heights.  Under  auspices 
of  City  Board  of  Playground  Commissioners.  Purpose,  free  and 
healthful  recreation  for  children  and  adults. 

Seamen's  Rest — Foot  of  H  street.  Superintendent,  Miss  Gen- 
evieve Purrier.  Auspices  County  Christian  Endeavor  Union. 
Purpose,  free  reading  room  and  rest  room  for  sailors.    Religious. 


48 


